We are the FOOTure
PORTUGUESE SHOES
© 2019 PORTUGUESE SOUL
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the editor, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the editor, addressed “Attention: Portuguese Soul Permissions”, at the address paulogoncalves@apiccaps.pt
Director Editor-in-Chief
President of APICCAPS Paulo Gonçalves paulogoncalves@apiccaps.pt Cláudia Pinto André Gonçalves (www.manifestoworks.com) António Freitas de Sousa, Catarina Vasques Rito, Ilídia Pinto, Joana Jervell, Maria Martinho, Patrícia Barnabé, Patrícia Domingues and Susana Ribeiro António Soares (www.antoniosoares.tumblr.com) AICEP Portugal Global, ANJE, ModaLisboa, Fátima Santos (AORP), Gabriela Oliveira, António Custódio, Irina Chitas, Manuela Oliveira (ModaLisboa), Mónica Neto e André de Atayde (ANJE), Paula Ascenção Laranja (Min. Economia) and Paula Parracho APICCAPS Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufacturers’ Association Rua Alves Redol 372 4050–042 Porto
Editor Graphic Design Collaboration Illustration Special Thanks
Owner
Tel: +351 225 074 150 geral@apiccaps.pt www.apiccaps.pt www.portugueseshoes.pt www.portuguesesoul.com
ISBN Circulation Printed by
2182–2298 10.000 copies Empresa Diário do Porto
The views expressed in PORTUGUESE SOUL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the owner or its staff.
* Reconecte-se.
39° 35’ 0.478” S 71° 32’ 23.564” W
Reconnect.*
Montblanc 1858 Geosphere montblanc.com
Boutiques Montblanc Lisboa: Av. da Liberdade · Centro Colombo · El Corte Inglés Porto: NorteShopping · Vila Nova de Gaia: El Corte Inglés
Editorial Sweet 18. Getting to 18 is always special. We’ve reached adulthood. In principle, and just in principle, it means that we grow, that we evolve, that we become masters of our own life and our future. There are exceptions, however. Getting to 18 is always special. We are still cherished by those closest to us, but, at the same time, we create conditions to be able to… fly away. Sweet 18 is the starting point for this edition of Soul. We’ve reached adulthood. And we really want to fly. In fact, we have always aspired to this, even if we had to free ourselves from countless tethers to do so. In this edition we have freed ourselves from all the bonds, from the countless corsets that have been created for us and prevented us from growing. We risk like never before. Emancipating us at Sweet 18. This is a genderless, unbiased, unregulated edition. As it should be. We will not, of course, abandon our ideological matrix: at Soul, the promotion of Portuguese fashion is a priority, the praise of know-how accumulated over generations associated with a new generation of talent an obligation. Soul is an ode to Portuguese talent, devalued for so long, but which has finally found fertile ground to grow. So, this Soul will reach over 100 countries. The journey continues. With redoubled ambition, but no gender, no rules or prejudices. As it should be.
PAULO GONÇALVES 6
PORTUGUESE SOUL
W W W. C E R R U T I . C O M
Number 18 Table of Contents
108 Turning 18
PORTUGAL
130 Love Hangover
243 Caretos de Podence
148 The Wardrobe Age
246 O Traço
152 Don’t be shy, touch yourself.
248 Oficina 166
156 Forever Young
250 AkaCorleone
158 Old men and rags
252 Heritage Brand: Viarco
12 Making Of
162 A Tem-Plate for fashion
253 Claus Porto
14 Numbers
166 Portuguese abroad
254 Maria Imaginário
18 In her words
170 One of the boys
256 Tourism in Portugal comes of age
20 New Generation
192 Rachide Embaló
258 Recipe
22 Outside the box
208 Fashion is a stage
24 A new plan for sustainability
212 Ivo Baldé
28 The Man
214 Move Forwards
30 Glenteman’s Code
218 New Brand In
52 Follow Me
220 ModaLisboa
56 Platforme
222 Portugal Fashion
58 Footwear Summer Immersion
224 Hot New Talents
6 Editorial
62 Who is Joana Barrios? 68 Fresh Zone 86 Olga Noronha 90 Golden Age
Making Of
Talent and creativity. Willingness to grow. A vision for the future. These are the mottoes for the students who graduate from the Design and Footwear Academy and join the Portuguese footwear industry. Hot New Talents came from the project esad.idea, a research centre right in the heart of Matosinhos, near Porto, which focuses on research and the promotion of design. By the lens of Pedro Afonso and the stylist Fernando Bastos Pereira, this editorial highlights the work of some of the finalists, who will soon show their skills in the industry. Esad.ideia is a research centre of ESAD, the College of Arts and Design. In addition to research, esad.ideia is in charge of the cultural programming of Casa do Design, in Matosinhos, an exhibition space to showcase and bring Portuguese design closer to the general public.
12
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Photo: Pedro Afonso
AVENIDA DA LIBERDADE . RUA GARRETT . OEIRAS PARQUE . CASCAISHOPPING FACEBOOK: ANDRE.OPTICAS . INSTAGRAM: @ANDREOPTICAS . ANDREOPTICAS.COM
Numbers
400 000
The European textile, clothing, footwear and leather industry currently employs more than two million people. 400,000 new professionals will be needed over the next decade to strengthen the relative position of the European fashion industry, internationally. As a result, the European Commission is developing the “Open Your Mind” project, precisely to attract a new generation of talent.
400
400 is the number of European environmental labels. The protection of the environment and the planet is a priority, but it is also important that there are criteria in the definition of strategy, which reward those who effectively develop strategies articulated with environmental protection. Portuguese footwear wants to be at the forefront of this process.
27 000 000
The number of shoes produced in 2018, worldwide, according to World Footwear. Asia now accounts for 86.2% of production, followed by South America (5%) and Europe (3.3% of the total).
14
PORTUGUESE SOUL
22
Twenty-two thousand tons of plastics are dumped into the oceans every year. Combating this calamity is a worldwide emergency. Some Portuguese footwear companies are developing initiatives to collect this waste and develop sustainable footwear collections.
11.9%
The percentage growth of the number of workers in the Portuguese footwear industry in the last decade, up to a total of 39,602 at the end of 2018. The promotion of sustainability is also done with the defence of local production.
100 000 000
One hundred billion euros. The value of white sneakers sold in 2018, according to the Business of Fashion (BoF).
In her words Victoria Guerra
She is currently one of the major Portuguese actresses. In theatre, television or films, Victoria Guerra takes Portugal’s name beyond the country’s borders. And she promises to continue. Do you still remember your first role?
I would like to explore theatre more.
My first role was in Morangos com Açúcar, where I realised that acting could really be a career for me.
What does the Portuguese soul mean to you?
What was the biggest professional challenge you faced? It was the film Cosmos, for I was working with Andrzej Zulawski, with a Gombrowicz text. It put me outside of my comfort zone, as it was in another language, and I really wanted to do it. Film, theatre or television? Which do you prefer? (And why?) All three are different languages in which different techniques are applied, and which bring different returns to my work and to me personally. I have more experience in cinema and television;
18
PORTUGUESE SOUL
The sense of the collective in discovering new horizons without forgetting history, the place where we were born projected into a future that unites us with greater strength. What (professional) expectations do you have for 2020? Professionally, I want to continue on this path that I am fortunate enough to have been able to follow so far. Essentially, for 2020, I want us to look at and listen to others more, and each other, so that it may be a year of fraternity and affection, at work and outside of work, in Portugal and, basically, in the world.
Photo: Frederico Martins
Become part of the INGREDIENT BRANDING PROGRAM
© 2019 D. Swarovski Distribution GmbH
Swarovski ® is a registered trademark of Swarovski AG.
SEAL YOUR SUCCESS SWAROVSKI-PROFESSIONAL.COM
New Generation It started with a product: cork. This was properly designed into a flip-flop model; the first cork flip-flops worldwide. It won the Amorim Cork Ventures award in 2016 and, shortly after, the union with Kyaia made up of the rest of the story, which is as yet unwritten. From the partnership with the surfer MacNamara, to the feet of both ModaLisboa and Portugal Fashion’s staff, come and find out about journey of Pedro Abrantes.
How did this project come to be? First of all, and because I had already worked with the material (cork), in iPlant home-gardens, and knowing its characteristics, I realised there was a lack of eco-friendly solutions in this specific segment. This first positive experience of working with cork associated with other factors, such as my academic background in architecture, my passion for the footwear industry (and my enthusiasm over Portugal’s international positioning), as well as my will to have a great personal project, led me to develop a product that is unexpected, versatile and sophisticated, that gathers a bit of all of the previous factors and with a very interesting market potential, as cork is always a differentiating element. That’s how ASPORTUGUESAS emerged. Was the footwear sector a natural choice? Yes, it was. Having a footwear brand was always a goal and, above all, to create a sustainable brand with a unique value proposition.
Pedro Abrantes, ASPORTUGUESAS
With sustainability on the agenda, how do ASPORTUGUESAS distinguish themselves? ASPORTUGUESAS distinguish themselves not only by innovation and technology but also by their design and comfort. The incorporation of cork allows a softer contact with the foot and being natural, they don’t overheat when exposed to the sun, therefore decreasing perspiration. ASPORTUGUESAS are also significantly lighter than the competition and, at the same time, very high-impact resistant. As mentioned earlier, ASPORTUGUESAS have the Portuguese identity in their DNA and the aim
20
PORTUGUESE SOUL
is for the client to identify itself with the whole value proposal that’s incorporated in the end product. Thus, ASPORTUGUESAS are more than just flip-flops; they deliver emotions and moments of relaxation, pleasure and comfort, therefore reaching out to an also joyful and diversified audience, united by a country, a culture and an identity. It’s an eco-friendly product, which resonates with nature. What are the future plans for the brand? What can we expect? ASPORTUGUESAS aims to become both a national and worldwide reference, competing with the greatest global brands. We’re investing in a steady growth, through a thorough analysis of the competition, as well as consumer preferences. Currently, the approach involves analysing strategic partnerships to boost and strengthen the product’s value and promote the brand’s collection as objects of desire throughout the world. Within this context, and given the export potential of ASPORTUGUESAS, we estimate an 80% share of the overall market.
®
*
LEVI’S ACCESSORIES
* ACESSÓRIOS LEVI’S® ©2019 LEVI STRAUSS & CO.
Outside the box Innovation is a part of the Portuguese footwear companies’ DNA. In this edition of Soul, we present three out of the box projects by Portuguese companies.
Wasteless
A lesson on sustainability
Made to feet
Shoes that smell of lemon seemed to be a dream, but Lemon Jelly became a reality five years ago. Fun, colourful and now… PETA approved. The brand was recently certified vegan by the international association. But that’s not all. Concerned about the environment from day one, Lemon Jelly recently presented the Wasteless line, composed of items made using waste.
“Nothing is lost, everything is transformed!” is Bolflex’s motto, which inspired an original catwalk show in the last edition of Portugal Fashion.
At first glance it looks like traditional footwear. On closer examination, it is clear that these are professional footwear, built on a technical basis, without neglecting the design component.
For the company “when we talk about the production of high-end items, waste is inevitable. When we realised the level of waste we had, we decided that we needed to urgently do something in order to change”. This is a collection where waste is transformed into new pairs of shoes.
22
PORTUGUESE SOUL
The brand surprised the audience with footwear made from reused waste material, thus reinforcing a more ecological, circular and sustainable industrial and social vision. “Coffee grounds, hay, cork, leaves, old canvas, and everything that you can image, can be incorporated” into the process. “Rubber is our expertise and, along the way, we discovered that it was possible to reuse polymers. Bolflex used to waste 150 tons of raw material but, after much effort, we realised it was possible to reuse that waste and transform it within the manufacturing process,” explained the Founder and CEO, António Ferreira. “We don’t just make the shoes. We developed the raw material and created the necessary partnerships for this project to come to life”.
Made for workers who experience their working days in a new way. Professionals that want to go further, feeling good in every task they perform, every day. Toworkfor was created to improve the design and to maximise comfort for all, while being modern. The brand offers unrivaled comfort, advanced technical design with an effective use of premium materials. All To Work For shoes are built by the world reference safety shoes manufacture: AMF — Safety Shoes.
A new plan for sustainability
APICCAPS (Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufacturer Association) presented on 5 December at LIPOR their Action Plan for the Footwear Cluster for Sustainability. The presentation happened under the conference Sustainability: challenges and opportunities, attended by Inês dos Santos Costa, Secretary of State for the Environment, and João Torres, State Secretary for Trade, Services and Consumer Protection. According to Luís Onofre, APICCAPS President, “this is a unique document for the Portuguese economy that aims to create a structured sectorial mindset, to address the several domains of sustainability in an integrated manner”. Under the coordination of both APICCAPS and CTCP (Footwear Technology Centre of Portugal), “this document will be a key tool for the strategic repositioning of the sector within the international competitive scenario”, states the President. The Action Plan is divided into three axes (Planet, People and Companies) and presents 12 measures, distributed over 50 actions. “Our goal is for the Portuguese footwear industry to be a leader in
24
PORTUGUESE SOUL
the development of sustainable solutions”. The development of new materials, tracking raw materials, product information, product environmental footprint or energy efficiency are some of the actions included. The Portuguese footwear industry plays an important role in the Portuguese economy, namely concerning exports. In effect, the Portuguese footwear exports amount to 1.9 billion euros, which represents 95% of overal production. Moreover, the national added value is significantly high and the sector is responsible for a positive Portuguese trade balance of over 1.3 billion euros. This outcome was only possible due to a successful combination of entrepreneurial dynamism and public policies that, together, act upon the three main factors for the maintenance and reinforcement of competitiveness: sales promotion and marketing; human resource qualification; and innovation. In the latter, Portugal has become the main user of innovative technologies within the footwear sector.
Photo: Frederico Martins
INTERNATIONAL CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ACCESSORIES TRADE SHOW
FEBRUARY 2020 momad.es
The Man
Felipe Oliveira Baptista has been announced as Kenzo’s new creative director. The Portuguese designer will now take on the creativity of the LMVH Group’s brand, after being creative director at Lacoste for eight years. “Kenzo is freedom and contagious movement”, said the Portuguese designer. “Kenzo’s constant celebration of nature and cultural diversity always was and is the heart of the brand. Two topics that are now more relevant and compelling than ever before, which will be essential in writing Kenzo’s future”. The position was held before Felipe, since 2011, by the North American duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.
28
PORTUGUESE SOUL
MARK YOUR CALENDARS Contemporary Footwear for Men
Luxury to Lifestyle Branded Footwear for Men, Women, Juniors, and Children
JANUARY 19-21, 2020 JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC
FEBRUARY 5-7, 2020 MANDALAY BAY LAS VEGAS
AUGUST 17-19, 2020 LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER
Women’s Contemporary Footwear
FEBRUARY 11-13, 2020 JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC
SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2020
Luxury Footwear for Women
JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC
FEBRUARY 11-13, 2020 JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC
SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2020 JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC
APPLY TO ATTEND OR EXHIBIT MAGICFASHIONEVENTS.COM
GEN T LEM A N ’ S CODE Images / Óscar Almeida Retouching / Paulo Ferreira
Shoes: Centenรกrio
Shoes: Nobrand
Cosmetics: AC Brito and Antiga Barbearia do Bairro
Shoes: Carlos Santos
Shoes: Valuni
Shoes: Profession Bottier
Tie: Vandoma
Socks: West Mister
Bow Tie and Cufflinks: Vandoma
Shoes: Milton Ricardo
Shoes: Cruz de Pedra
Shoes: Paradigma
Shoes: J. Reinaldo
Bag: Belcinto
Shoes: RCM
Ties: Vandoma
Follow Me Text / Gabriela Oliveira Follow Me tells you three stories of overcoming difficulties and entrepreneurship. Young people who have taken the plunge with their own businesses, success stories almost two decades old and international phenomena who have just turned 18 years of age.
Freakloset @freakloset
Billie Eilish @billieeilish
Fava Tonka @favatonkapt
Freakloset by Joana Lemos was born in Barcelona in 2014. Despite have studied business administration, her passion for shoes has always been stronger. The possibility of customising your own pair of shoes is what makes the brand unique. “The aim is to reinvent the classic shoe, but with a contemporary and comfortable touch. “. A Freakloset shoe is easily recognizable by the triangle near the heel offers comfort. There is a showroom in Lisbon and they already export to 25 countries.
With only 17 years old, Billie Eilish is already a phenomenon. Raised is Los Angeles in a family of musicians, she hasn’t any pretension to be a singer, but the first music she recorded “Ocean Eyes” was a success. Billie started to write her own songs by the age of 11 and all the other songs she wrote with her brother were only to be listened by their friends. However the talent was such that the boost was immediate.
Fava Tonka is a restaurant in Leça da Palmeira with an organic and seasonal food. Created by Nuno Castro e Ricardo Rodrigues, they said “We were missing an author veggie restaurant that support small producers.” The menu is always changing, using sesonal vegetables and fruits. All the ingredients are produced in Portugal except the blue cheese: the salt is from Aveiro, the biologic honey is from Marco de Canaveses, the handmade bread is from Garfa, all the vegetables are cultivated on a farm in Oporto and the wine is biodynamic.
52
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Platforme
Gonçalo Cruz, the dream maker
He’s an industrial engineer and a real business designer. Gonçalo Cruz grew up professionally with José Neves, the founder of Fartech. Together they took the first steps, but Gonçalo Cruz has long since carved his own path. Gonçalo Cruz is co-founder of Platforme, a technological and operational platform producing a technology that allows large luxury brands to digitally customise their products. There are nearly 500 clients — mostly American, British and Middle Eastern — who have already bought and customised products on Platforme. All first-class and world-renowned customers. The process is relatively simple, but requires a lot of procedural engineering. Taking a handbag as an example, the Platforme 3D team makes a three-dimensional model of the object. Each element is modelled, digitally reproducing the
56
PORTUGUESE SOUL
real product in detail, including seams or textures. In the end, a digital sculpture is made, with the possibility of simulating a customisation that seems real. As a result, it is possible to interact with the product, choose the materials and colours, make the product as unique as it is exclusive. Gonçalo Cruz’s vision is controversial. Customisation is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. The industry is badly formatted; it produces on a large scale and, when it doesn’t sell its products, it resorts to sales, which means it loses profitability and devalues its own brands. For Gonçalo Cruz “the consumer of luxury products doesn’t mind waiting. Fashion will be, in the future, like the automotive industry: first the customer chooses, then pays and only after that will the customer receive the product. We can already see this phenomenon in Gucci, for example.”
PORTUGUESE SOUL
57
Footwear Summer Immersion
The Portuguese Footwear Summer Immersion Course is a unique international learning experience that provides participants around the world with excelled skills on creation, developing and prototyping fashion footwear models, in close contact with the world’s leading footwear industry at the home of shoemaking heritage. In July 2020 “the Sexiest Industry in Europe” will host for 3 consecutive weeks, 14 designers, entrepreneurs and footwear technicians from around the world, for an unprecedented on-site experience of creation, developing and prototyping footwear models, in an excelled hybrid industrial and historic-cultural environment. The participants can expect an intense contact with state-of-the-art technology for the footwear sector, premium materials for their prototypes, the exchange of experiences with their peers and the best footwear technicians, unique competitive knowledge and skills on creation. In technical development and prototyping of footwear collections together with up-to-date knowledge on competitive variables of differentiation and a wide network at international level, while enjoying an inspiring atmosphere at the historic-cultural Portuguese landscape.
58
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Who is Joana Barrios? Text / Cláudia Pinto Photos / Tomás Monteiro
An interview that could be one of those iconic conversations you only have once in your lifetime. A conversation difficult to break down and almost impossible to replicate in words. More than an interview! We went (to try) to understand who Joana Barrios is. And the conclusion seems to be the same as the one we had at the outset. Who, then, is Joana Barrios, if not a symbiosis if actress, presenter, thinker, costume designer, passionate about fashion?
Today we start the conversation with the shoes. You always start your looks with the shoes. Why? Always. Because shoes are the only things that define whether a look will work well or not. Imagine: put on some high heels that you have difficulty walking in and then go to the Lx Factory without realising it has an extremely uneven floor… you will have the worst day. I think this relationship I have with shoes is also very motivated, because here in Portugal we have this typical Portuguese paving, so the way we wear our shoes also has to do with the way we want to live our daily lives. I read that you had the most enviable wardrobe in Lisbon for those who interviewed you at the time. Who said that? (laughs) My question is: how does this happen and how do you create a wardrobe every day? Well, I come from a great background, don’t I?! I’m from the theatre. And then there’s also the interest in fashion and exploring what fashion is. I think fashion is essentially communication, it’s narrative, it’s a form of non-verbal communication. It has a lot to do with the idea of the social projection of “me”. For me, it is a form of expression, it’s something with many layers, it is not just an item of clothing. So, for me, dressing often begins as a psychological, ethical, aesthetic, political and often and above all a conscious exercise. Do I have an enviable wardrobe? Well, I don’t know… I sometimes think my wardrobe is normal. When I lived outside Portugal, I often bought items that were very… I wouldn’t say eccentric, but items that were more special that I still have today, especially vintage items from the 1930s and 1940s. Sometimes I give
62
PORTUGUESE SOUL
these items away, and sometimes I lend them… I don’t have a great attachment to clothes. They serve a purpose, and then I can decide whether or not to use them, or whether or not to keep them.
make you a potential messenger and a target, but also an attacker, and this consciousness is super cool you realise that it can also exist and that clothing can make this happen.
Why political?
I would like to talk about this for a moment, because it is said that this industry is very polluting and that there is also a lot of information, which we who are in the industry know is not true. What do you think will be the way forward on this issue?
Clearly when you wear a T-shirt with a slogan you are making a statement. And a statement is a political act. It is an affirmation. You are affirming something. But fashion has served that purpose for a long time. Do you think it is still happening? I think if people think this is not happening, then they are being a little naive. One of the reasons I don’t wear T-shirts with slogans is because, usually, if you go to a high street store that sells T-shirts with things written on them, then that message will be shared by a large number of people: it can be a very big thing. I think that both in Portugal and elsewhere, wearing clothes is not and cannot just be about covering the body. Even people who tell you they don’t have much interest in or don’t care about their clothes, those people will be able to tell you whether they prefer boots to sneakers. There is always a preference. Dressing is like eating. It is so close to you, it is such a direct contact that it is unfair to you to say that your choice is a thoughtless one, that you are indifferent. It’s not indifferent… there is nothing indifferent about your clothes size, there is nothing indifferent about the way you sit… none of this is indifference, they are all choices and becoming more aware of choices is not just something to do with sustainability. The way you instrumentalise your body is always affirmative. You cannot separate yourself from your individuality, which is ever increasing, because each person is a messenger. Social media
It is said that the clothing industry is the second-most polluting, after aviation. It is a problem. One of the things I think we must take into account when thinking about sustainability is: there is a chain stretching from the harvest of the plant, in the case of cotton. From the cotton plant to the T-shirt, it is estimated that on average one item of clothing will pass through about 112 pairs of hands before reaching the 113th pair of hands, those belonging to the consumer, and all of a sudden the responsibility all rests on the consumer. The consumer is responsible for purchasing a €2 T-shirt, the consumer is irresponsible for buying a T-shirt they don’t need, the consumer is irresponsible for promoting fast-fashion. But I always ask: what happens at the start of this chain? Because at the start of this process, no-one thought if it would be worthwhile planting that cotton in intensive cultivation and if it would be worthwhile harvesting the cotton, then treating it, dyeing it and then sending it somewhere else… In other words, there is a very long chain before the final product is made, which is then the responsibility of the consumer. This is a complete paradigm shift about what the industry is today… About the position of the individual in the industry after 30-40 years of fast-fashion or more mass
fashion, and you can’t remove that from your DNA as a human being, because it is there, it exists. You have to understand how you live with it in a more peaceful way. Joana, and national fashion? What is your opinion of what we’re doing behind doors? What can or should change in terms of national fashion? First of all, do we have a national fashion? I don’t think there is a notion of national fashion. Fashion is neither national nor international: it’s global. No-one makes things just for Portugal. There’s a notion of the world. I think that people project a lot into national fashion, especially the Portuguese public, through ModaLisboa and Portugal Fashion, which are events designed for the fashion industry. And it’s not like the fashion weeks that take place in other parts of the world, where you have a catwalk here and a catwalk there. So, at least in that sense, I think people want national fashion to be wearable, but it is not an artistic exercise like any other. I think the work of all the people linked to the fashion and creative industries within fashion and design is very exciting, because you are speaking of labels that are produced in a gourmet and sustainable way. They don’t make 40 million blouses. The make 400. These are numbers with which it is possible to live, and to grow in an organic and sustainable way. So what’s happening in Portugal is very positive, and you can learn a lot from them, so I think: “There’s still so much to learn”. A while ago you were speaking of Armário. You began in theatre. Will you keep it up? Yes, I will not leave the theatre.
You were never a typical fashion blogger… And I’m still not. My hair is not long, nor is it blonde or dyed. I don’t unbox beauty products because I am deeply embarrassed by what we are doing to the planet. Each time you receive a box containing 15 lipsticks, that’s 15 pieces of plastic packaging inside 15 pieces of paper packaging with even more packaging, which is beautiful marketing, but then what do you do with it? But what happens is that looking at fashion is looking at and reflecting on what is around you, about society. The messenger has become more important than the message… Yes. And then you have everything that surrounds you, but you also have what makes this dangerous, so to say. There’s that American girl, the Blonde Vegan, who sold millions of copies of a vegan food book, but who went on to have problems of poor health, because it is obvious that nobody will survive on green juices for like two years and then end up speaking out and discrediting herself, but on the way she has picked up 50 million followers in her wake. I mean, I don’t think it is at all shameful and nothing negative is advertised. I just think that as an influencer you have to pick and choose what you do. You can’t advertise everything! I am always showing things I don’t get paid for. I come from an artistic background, and I never once in my life thought I’d be rich. Now if there’s an opportunity to explore the commercial side of things, I am not going to say no. Of course, because within this exploration there is also a very important learning process. If you continue to nurture your journey through things that are significant, and with this relationship with
PORTUGUESE SOUL
63
clothes, of clothing touching your skin, skin that is the body’s largest organ, for all this I come back to the initial idea where I don’t believe people who tell me they are dressed the way they are by chance. I’m sorry… Everything white, everything black. There is symbolism associated with certain things, there are underlying narratives, there are levels and layers of communication that you may not be aware of, but they still exist.
isodes that were received more positively, negatively or indifferently; but there was more positivity than not. The episode dealing with luxury was very popular, because in the search for a definitive definition of luxury we discovered there is no such thing. What is luxury? Luxury is the ability to be seated here speaking for 1, 2, 3 hours. Luxury is many things, it is many different things, it is a very broad and changeable concept.
Was this a part of the logic that appeared in Armário?
So, I think Armário is an extension of this way of thinking, but imagine: it is a very communitarian extension, because all the members of the team are active contributors to any content, whether it is set design, makeup, hair or styling. Everything is created for each episode, it is created as a unique piece. Content is researched by me, by Joana Cunha Ferreira, by Rita Rolex, by André Godinho — the director — and there’s a whole team of people who are committed and organised to do this. We also think about our guests in this way; that is, we always want to talk to people who are not in the fashion industry, or who are not only from the fashion industry, because I think that fashion continues to be regarded badly, because people look at fashion in a pejorative, frivolous and futile way, that has no interest.
Yes. Armário was an invitation from Maria João Mayer and Rita Rolex, who wanted to do something about fashion for RTP2. They called me and suggested I be a presenter and work on the programme’s contents. Eventually, I got to the part where I was working very, very hard on the contents as well as presenting the programme, but it is not a programme about me, it’s about my ideas about fashion and this way that I have, which is apparently very valid, of looking at fashion as a global phenomenon rather than as a magazine trend. And now that I have a bigger audience, what really interests me is talking about these things, to bring them to the table for discussion. And this has happened a lot with Armário. The first series of Armário caused a lot of discussions mainly around the theme of sustainability, focusing on the theme of the future. There were ep-
64
PORTUGUESE SOUL
www.lemonjelly.com
FR ESH ZONE Images / Carmo Amorim Concept / Ana Caracol
Shoes: Nobrand
Bag: Fly London
Shoes: Gladz
Shoes: Palazzo VII
Shoes: Perlato
Shoes: MLV Portuguese Shoes
Bag: My Cute Pooch
Shoes: Pregis
Shoes: Pallas
Shoes: Tatuaggi
Shoes: Relance
Shoes: Luís Onofre
Shoes: Lemon Jelly
Shoes: PatrĂcia Henriques
Shoes: Exceed Shoe Thinkers
Olga Noronha
There are artists with unique and surprising sensitivity. Even so, Olga Noronha is one of a kind. The complexity of her creations is impressive. With the anthological exhibition Body-Sculpture, formed by sculptural pieces, “Olga Noronha has reshaped and redesigned the body form — as they lie as old medieval armors, that, when empty, stayed in that motionless position as typical sculptural shapes — reinvesting us with an excessive presence”, wrote the critic Bernardo Pinto de Almeida in the exhibition’s catalog, of which he’s a curator. 2019 was, unquestionably, the year for Olga Noronha. She’s was born in Porto, in 1990. At 11 years old, she gave the first steps into contemporary jewelry by attending the school Engenho & Arte, in Porto, and, then, went to London after finishing high school. In 2007, she began the Art & Design degree at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. Her work was considered the best of that year and was acquired by the university to include in their private collection.
86
PORTUGUESE SOUL
After graduating in Jewelry Design, in 2011, she was accepted as investigator at the Center for Research in Territory, Architecture, and Design (CITAD). In the same year, Olga was invited to lecture at her university, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, and became a speaker at Winthrop University (USA) and at ESAD (PT). In 2012, after finishing the Master of Research in Design at Goldsmiths College, University of London, the jewelry designer was offered a merit-based grant PhD scholarship — Design Star Consortium — for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). With a PhD, nowadays, Olga Noronha is connected to several academic institutions, both national and international, as well as with the Museo del Gioiello Vicenza (Museum of Jewelry), in Italy, as curator of a part of it.
Photos: ModaLisboa
MODALISBOA LISBOA FASHION WEEK
Photo: Ricardo Santos. Art direction: Clรกudia Barros. Model: Joana Bravo. Graphic Design: Joana Areal
FW 20/21 5-8 MARCH 2020 OFICINAS GERAIS DE FARDAMENTO E EQUIPAMENTO DO EXÉRCITO
FASHION HAPPENINGS SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOPS MASTERCLASSES NETWORKING POP-UP STORE EXHIBITIONS SHOWROOM STREET FOOD FREE ADMISSION
#LISBOAFASHIONWEEK MODALISBOA.PT Uma iniciativa conjunta
Parceiro Tecnológico
Tv oficial
Cofinanciado por
Patrocínios
Rádio oficial
Viatura oficial
Tv internacional
Parceiros de Media
Hotel oficial
Apoios
G OL DEN AGE Images / Ricardo Santos Styling / Joel Alves
Shoes: Savana; Jacket and pants: InĂŞs Torcato
Dress: Imauve
Shoes: Lemon Jelly; Dress: PĂŠ de Chumbo
Shoes: Felmini; Top and pants: LuĂs Carvalho
Shoes: Arcopedico; Dress: Carolina Machado
Shoes: Perks; Shirt: Dino Alves; Skirt: David Ferreira
Shoes: Tatuaggi; Dress: Imauve
Shirt: Dino Alves
Dress: Imauve
Shoes: Fly London; Dress: David Ferreira
Dress: Imauve
Shoes: Nobrand; Shirt and Pants: InĂŞs Torcato
Dress: LuĂs Carvalho
Production: Snowberry Make-up: Patrícia Lima Hair: Rui Rocha Model: Marianne Schroder ‘Scoop Models’
Shoes: Bolflex; Shirt and Pants: Imauve
T U R N I N G 18 Images / Frederico Martins Styling / Clรกudia Barros
Philip – Shirt: Luís Carvalho; Trousers: Alexandra Moura | Samuel – Jacket and jeans: David Catalán | Raquel – Top and trousers: Constança Entrudo | Floral print blanket and multi-color macrame blanket: Kinda Home
Philip – Sweater: Joker | Samuel – Sweater: David Catalán | Orange macrame blanket: Kinda Home
Denim Jacket: David Catalรกn
Philip – Sweater: Joker | Samuel – Sweater: David Catalán | Raquel – Silk shirt: Carolina Machado | Orange macrame blanket: Kinda Home
Samuel – Sneakers: J. Reinaldo; Shirt and pants: Decenio X Alexandra Moura | Raquel – Shoes: MLV Portuguese Shoes; Shirt and pants: Carolina Machado | Philip – Sneakers: Eureka; Vintage Shirt: Joker; Denim shorts: David Catalán | Vichy Tablecloth: Kinda Home
Samuel – Shirt: Decenio X Alexandra Moura | Raquel – Shirt: Carolina Machado | Philip – Vintage Shirt: Joker | Vichy Tablecloth and SaucePan: Kinda Home
Sweater: David Catalรกn
Philip – Sweater, pants and scarf: Joker | Raquel – Boots: Unreal Fields; Vintage shirt and skirt: Às de Espadas | Samuel – Shirt and trousers: David Catalán
Vintage gloves: Às de espadas
Philip and Samuel – Vintage jeans: Levi’s | Raquel – Dress: Alexandra Moura | Glass bottles: Kinda Home
Shoes: Gladz; Dress: Diogo Miranda
Phillip – Shoes: Tatuaggi; Vintage Kimono: Às de Espadas; Trousers: Alexandra Moura | Samuel – Vintage Kimono: Às de Espadas; Trousers: Luís Carvalho
Dress: Diogo Miranda
Philip – Sweater and scarf: Joker | Raquel – Vintage shirt: Às de Espadas
Shoes: Cruz de Pedra; Shirt and trousers: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Floral print blanket, multi-color macrame blanket, cotton and velvet pillows: Kinda Home
Raquel – Top: Carolina Machado; Pants: Constança Entrudo | Samuel – Floral print blanket: Kinda Home
Philip – Sweater and scarf: Joker | Raquel – Vintage shirt: Às de Espadas
Bag: Elenco; Dress: Ricardo Andrez; Vintage beret: Às de espadas
Philip – Sneakers: Eureka; Sweater: Ricardo Andrez | Samuel – Vest, T-Shirt and shorts: Ricardo Andrez | Raquel – Shoes: Luís Onofre; Jacket, t-shirt and pants: Ricardo Andrez
Production: Diogo Oliveira @Lalaland Studios Photographer assistants: Pedro Sá and Michael Matsoukas Styling Assistant: Maria Sampaio Make-up: Patrícia Lima Hair: Rui Rocha with L’Oréal Professionnel products Models: Raquel Brito ‘We are models’, Philip L. ‘New Madison’ and Samuel R. ‘New Madison’
Samuel – Shoes: Dark Collection; Jeans: David Catalán | Philip – Shoes: Cruz de Pedra | Raquel – Shoes: Unreal Fields; Pants: Carolina Machado
L O V E H A N G OV E R Images / Ricardo Santos Styling / Fernando Bastos Pereira
Clothes: Diogo Miranda
Shoes: Perlato; Tops: Dino Alves; Jeans: Levi’s; Vintage earrings
Shoes: Gladz; Clothes: Marques’ Almeida; Vintage earrings
Shoes: Luís Onofre; Clothes: Alves/Gonçalves
Shoes: Unreal Fields; Clothes: Alves/Gonรงalves
Shoes: Friendly Fire; Clothes: Carlos Gil; Vintage belts and earrings
Shoes: Softwaves; Clothes: Diogo Miranda
Shoes: Tatuaggi; Clothes (right): Diogo Miranda; Clothes (left): Carlos Gil; Vintage earrings
Clothes: Alves/Gonรงalves
Production: Snowberry Styling assistant: Nelson Lima Make-up: Patrícia Lima Hair: Rui Rocha Models: Marina Komesarovic ‘Le Management’ and Marine Van Outryve ‘Domique Models’
Tops: Dino Alves; Vintage earrings
The Wardrobe Age Text / Patricia Domingues Photos / Kinema
Clothing is both what we are and what we want to be. Where we want to belong and where we actually do belong. Clothing is the interface between us and the world. And although we are tired of knowing that we should not judge a book by its cover, what are we to do when it is the cover that holds the pages of the story together? We went to investigate the role of Fashion in our identity and, in between, to try to understand how the future is dressed. We can zero in on Fashion or be Carrie Bradshaw: as long as we live, it’s a part of us. Whether we use it as a second skin or sheep’s clothing is another story altogether — as fashion is both part of the same. “The choice of a certain style can be based on internal motivations (self-esteem, need to belong, emotional state, beliefs and life scripts) or on external factors (social or professional environment, popularity, publicity)”, explains Ana Correia. The specialist in clinical and health psychology sees fashion and clothing as tools that allow us to play with our image, both in terms of internal representation as well as externally. “From the psycho-social point of view, Fashion touches on notions such as identity, belonging, individuality and self-definition and this is built on the relationship and interaction with others. The person, by building their own style, is representing him or herself and creating an identity that reveals their similarities and differences to others and with the context in which they act.” In its “double function”, “clothing is a visible expression and a kind of wrapping of what we are in all our dimensions. We’re not what we wear but we use what we believe we are and what we’d like to be and show to others,” she explains. It is a process in motion: it’s inside and outside of us. In a Time online article that looks at why we buy (so many) clothes, the author said that when we buy we visualise our future self and that’s why so many people love to shop — it’s a preparation exercise. “Buying stimulates our imagination. As we consider different items, we imagine how others will respond to them, how we will feel as we wear them,” it states. It’s kind of a threesome: us, the others and Fashion. It is also no novelty to us that our emotional state is reflected in our daily choices of outfit and, therefore, in the midst of these various meanings, clothes “undoubtedly have a structuring, functional, symbolic and communicational meaning”, sums up the psychologist. “Clothing is a form of expression and communication: who am I, what I like, what I do, where I belong, how I feel, how I want to be seen” — but is it possible to encapsulate our persona inside a wardrobe, without it getting moth-eaten? Fashion crystallizes identity, offering us the necessary tools to express who we are. They may not be the same ones we’ll use tomorrow, or at that stage of secondary school, but while we’re building our identity, let’s face it: let’s not do it naked. As Bill Cunningham summed it up in the documentary of the same name: “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. One can’t exist without the other. It would be like ignoring civilization.” This relationship of ‘tell me what you wear and I’ll tell you who you are’ (and who you want to be) didn’t come about the first time a man killed an animal to make a fur coat. The concern at that time was more ‘I don’t want to die of cold’ than ‘I have style’, although some researchers claim that as soon as man understood that this gave him some kind of status within the group (the more skins he had, the stronger he seemed), clothing ceased to have just a protective function.“If we accept the perspective according to which we have a broader history of clothing, which would have accompanied man from the moment
148
PORTUGUESE SOUL
he began to cover his body, and, in parallel, a History of Fashion, the birth of which (for the Western world) we could define at the end of the 14th century, with the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, we will find that the association between Fashion and identity has also been relevant since the beginning,” states Catarina Moura, director of the 1st Cycle in Fashion Design and Vice-President of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of Beira Interior University. She further states that in the specific case of Fashion, its history is built not only on its contribution to the definition of a collective identity (“although this element is clearly present during the first centuries — we only have to think of the example of the French Court and the way in which, in this context, fashion was consciously used as a means of affirming political power and influence”), but also for individual identity, a dimension that is reinforced to this day. “One of the characteristics of Fashion is precisely the way in which it stimulates in the individual the belief that, through it, that person will be able to find and affirm his/her own identity, using clothing as a means of expression of the style that his/her preferences dictate at each moment/stage of life. (...) Fashion allows difference, it is in itself this promise and possibility of developing a style felt as individual, unique, own, but at the same time it is still a phenomenon that operates by contagion, generating identification and ensuring belonging by copying another or the adoption of trends that standardise by definition.” At the same time that we want to belong, we want to preserve our individuality — Fashion makes us part of a whole and, at the same time, sets us apart. At the same time that Fashion is a reflection of time and guides us to ‘function’ in a certain space and time, it is also a dream universe where each one can create their own fantasy/reality. Fashion, like the human being, is made up of contradictions, and has as a starting point the way in which it, as a cultural phenomenon, manages them as if they were apparently not contradictions, explains Catarina. “On the one hand, Fashion establishes the boundaries of a space-time logic, clearly assuming itself as a translation, for each time and place, of its zeitgeist, of the spirit of its time. The definition of a set of trends is based on something more profound, which translates not only a way of being, but also an idea of what is or isn’t acceptable. In this sense, Fashion contributes to showing what each era considers the norm and what is a transgression, moving between these two territories. In doing so, it both reinforces and dilutes the border that separates them, and this is another of the contradictions that it manages naturally, as a system that absorbs everything. In this sense, it generates comfort zones, clearly regulating, as well as defining ruptures, which are transgressors by definition. In both cases (as well as in all degrees of the broad spectrum that these poles represent), Fashion is not and has never been an exclusive reflection of reality and its contingencies — on the contrary, it continues to represent today, as always, the possibility of dreaming and fantasizing. This is true to the extent that much of what Fashion is relates to the set of ideals that, as cultures and communities, we build and pursue over time. This is also why Fashion is so easily associated with the production or reinforcement of stereotypes (such as those of beauty or of the body, for example), in the same way that we observe its association with the deconstruction of these, seeking to ethically and politically position itself.” In the history of female fashion, the “bloomers” of the mid-nineteenth century — a type of women’s clothing that sought to incorporate the use of loose trousers —, the shortening of the dress hem to knee height in the twentieth century, the mini-skirt, shorter hair, the
use of a bra as an option and the vulgarisation of trousers in women’s clothing, among others, represent profoundly significant changes enumerated by Catarina — “also because, in parallel, we saw the woman leave the private sphere to which she had been confined for centuries, taking on a progressive role in the most varied of public spheres that we can’t dissociate from the contemporary definition of her identity.” Some people turn on the television and tune in to the news to hear the state of the world. We can also look at fashion trends. Autumn/Winter 2019: “the wardrobe for this winter has been built not for the woman of the future, but for the woman of now,” reports the French edition of Vogue — and the fact that an unprecedented number of women are campaigning to get the Democratic Party nomination for the November 2020 presidential elections will not be a coincidence. Combat boots, tailoring, capes, sustainable materials, the 1980’s, just to name a few because it doesn’t matter either: the fashion shows of this season were less about a checklist of pieces to retain and more about a state of mind, which goes from celebration to protection in an apocalyptic scenario, as has done in at least the two most recent seasons. It is as if the notion of individualism were always present, as if Fashion were tired of its dictatorial character and in trying to please everyone it has offered an article for either one or it has touched on the themes we are all talking about on Instagram (hello, Greta Thunberg). And, btw, where’s the novelty? Do we look... lost? Or diversified and inclusive? I ask Cláudia Barros, a stylist, how she would represent the iden-
tity of now in a fashion editorial. “We live in an era of the absence of silence, with an excess of information and articles and quick access to everything,” she says. “Either I would go to the opposite of what I feel is happening, in order to transmit a political message — that is, something more minimal and clean, or I would represent this excess, a generation with an eagerness to produce, you know, to do and dream.” According to her, it is hard to point to the outcome of what we are doing today, but the Internet will be somewhere at the epicentre of this change. “It has brought proximity, it has democratised and it has broken down barriers. It helps you to open your mind — for example, if you see a punk on the street, you don’t relate that to something else, just Google it and search, and it stops being that ‘scary’ thing that it was a while ago. If you educate yourself, you normalize, which works to break down stereotypes, but at the same time tomorrow you use elements of this culture without identifying with the punk movement or knowing what it represented,” — is our new identity saying goodbye to urban tribes? “Maybe we are becoming less ‘unique’ or peculiar because there is no longer that need to identify ourselves as someone different to convey a message ...”, says the stylist. “And when this will arises, because at the end of the day we all want to be special, it ceases to be organic and natural — so, will you really be any different?” she asks. The democratisation brought by fast fashion has given us the possibility of wearing the sweater in a different way every day — or, at least, to try that, but is having the same as being? If we see traces of the punk culture, folded in four,
PORTUGUESE SOUL
149
on the shelves of a Zara, where was the fracturing message behind what we wear, besides liking what we see in the mirror? “Despite the “political flags” of, say, feminism, diversity, inclusivity and sustainability that Fashion raises today with frequency, we also realize the ease it seems to have in emptying what it appropriates, dissociating the aesthetic from an effective ethical and political content and condemning it to a superficiality that, basically, has always been pointed out as a stigma,” explains Catarina Moura. “We live in a culture that easily confuses surface with superficial, tending to confuse that which deals with the first — because, in it, it is also the appearance that is at stake — with the latter and, consequently, denying it a depth and seriousness that we cannot (nor should we) dissociate from anything so closely connected to the definition of our individual and collective identity. However, it is a fact that Fashion, as
150
PORTUGUESE SOUL
an industry, phenomenon and system on a global scale, operates more easily from the ideological vacuum, even if under the appearance of its constant social commitment to numerous causes.” It is practically impossible to disassociate Fashion from appearance and consumption (even because it is also a business) and, however, it is this message that Constança Entrudo, designer, tries to convey. It will not be the common practice of creators to question their consumers about the need to buy their work... “I try to make the interest in an article of mine make them reflect on the true value of things and, consequently, on who they are as consumers and people. Design is not a matter of price but we can’t deny that our choices as consumers say a lot about us,” advocates the designer, who looks at her profession as
many people do not consider it the same), which is generating a certain conflict of mentalities and generations. I feel that social media (in particular Instagram) make us almost feel obliged to have a voice, not just to be ‘one more’. Which is great because, whether or not we are well informed about them, we are all more aware of the problems of our world and more aware of issues such as sustainability, for example. However, I feel that people are all in a frantic search for their identity and for constant approval of it, and they use style and posts on social media as a means to achieve that end. When the logic should, in fact, be the opposite.” Psychology — along with our anxiety — explains: “We live in a time when the idea of the ‘perfect’ is still very much ingrained and we are constantly immersed by external influences (advertising, fashion blogs, influencers, trends) that strongly dictate image and lifestyle standards from which it is difficult to escape,” says Ana Correia. The outcome? A list of idealisations and comparisons that, from the Instagram feed to our guts, only serve to keep us away from our essence: “We are not isolated beings and we will always be immersed by influential contexts, in a more or less direct way. The ‘trick’ is to find this dynamic balance between ‘feeling good about me’ and ‘feeling part of a whole’. We all need to feel unique but, at the same time, integrated into the world and clothing serves these needs and functions.”
‘designing for a purpose’. From campaigns to communication on social media and fashion shows, not only through the articles but also through the casting of models, it clearly and coherently conveys her identity and purpose, one in which she intends that “people reflect and deconstruct the various prejudices that often prevent us from being freer people”. A line of thought that seems to follow the trends of now — but what do you feel about what you see and feel? “I would say that we are going through a phase of transition, a very fast transition or evolution (in my opinion, although
serve this evolution — because, in the end, it can also translate the evolution of our way of being,” says Catarina. “Taking on ‘without gender’ as a new banner is not insignificant when considering fashion’s presence and its impact on a global scale — and, consequently, the role that, in fact, it can also represent on this level in the context of a much needed change of mentalities towards a culture more capable of ensuring the dignity of the other, whoever that other may be.” Respect, empathy and acceptance? Now there’s a jacket I wouldn’t mind wearing. With one advantage: it suits us all.
It is difficult to try to map our current identity and what Fashion is today, in the light of the present, without being in a questioning form, as if we were back when we were old enough to ask our parents why: “Like everything that is human, Fashion is also a reflection of who we are and what we do in each moment of our history,” says Catarina. But of all the concepts that appear glued to what we see in the now, there is one that seems to be messing with the physical structures of thought and construction of society — we risk betting our identifying chips on genderless Fashion: “It is no longer just a matter of understanding to what extent Fashion can contribute to the dilution of barriers between the apparently rigid territories of masculinity and femininity, allowing men and women to pass between them naturally and opening space for new constructions of masculinity and femininity (because they are, effectively, historical and cultural constructions that we speak of when we refer to those concepts and not of ‘natural’, biological associations to man and to woman). It is now a question of also (or above all) understanding to what extent Fashion can contribute to deconstructing the concept of gender, namely the binary logic according to which it has been contracted,” explains Catarina. We’re not just talking about a unisex T-shirt — not least because that seems to be cheating — but about a truly neutral construction, sewn along the lines of discomfort generated by the destitution of a binary culture and thoughts. A complicated task, even for Fashion. It is, therefore, interesting to ob-
PORTUGUESE SOUL
151
Don’t be shy, touch yourself.
There are ideas that have to be born in the heart. And that, in fact, are born. There are others that do not remain only on paper: they have and must be materialized. This is the case for the new campaign DON’T BE SHY, TOUCH YOURSELF!. But this is more than a T-shirt, it is a manifesto for prevention, self-examination in an early diagnosis of breast cancer, for life and love. In this love story, the protagonists are Tânia Dioespirro and Luís Carvalho. She’s a stylist, he’s a designer. Friends. When Tania found out she had breast cancer she decided to talk about it publicly, without any shame, so that her story could be an example to so many other women. Luís Carvalho had the idea of using fashion as a warning signal. When she shared the idea of creating a campaign, Tânia wanted “not only to make people aware of the importance of self-examination, but to demystify the prejudice associated with the image of those who undergo treatment. This campaign assumes it, empowers it and normalises it. The T-shirt, the central object of the project, is a play on words and a graphic message that hits home, on the chest, of those who wear it and those who see it. It is on sale in the designer’s online store for €35, 85% of which will be donated to Portuguese breast cancer support institutions. Here, there is no place for shyness and indifference.
152
PORTUGUESE SOUL
PORTUGUESE SOUL
153
COLLECTION
SAFETY SHOES
FACEBOOK.COM/TOWORKFOR.PT
TOWORKFOR.PT
I N S TAG RA M . C O M / TOW O R K F O R
Forever Young
156
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Photo: Ricardo Santos for AORP’s campaign
Text / Patrícia Barnabé
After centuries of valuing antiquity and wisdom, why have we become so obsessed with youth?
In the 1960s we discovered that youth could be a powerful energy for change. Until the mid-twentieth century, children and adolescents were dressed as adults and therefore forced to behave as such. A source of labour for the needy, a status for the wealthy, they existed as a continuation of their parents, they had no social identity of their own, autonomous and they became adults while still very young, in comparison with our time. It was the student revolts, the sexual revolution of the swinging sixties and the hippie movement, the freedoms inherited from the bohemian roaring twenties and from the beat generation, which still echoes today, that gave young people a voice, a space for expression and freedom. The realisation was reached with the baby boom generation that it was the young people who took the world forward, a demographic and cultural force, possessing a certain romanticism in a pure state and the energy to make it succeed. Half of America’s population in the 1960s was young, the “spoiled” post-war generation, children of parents who survived the Great Depression, now with more time and more money to invent. As always, fashion has kept up with their times: the girls shortened their skirts like the previous generation had scandalized with their bikinis and the boys let their hair grow. Everything then seemed possible. Why has this image of youth become an absolute idea of energy and beauty? Firstly, because we no longer value knowledge, especially now that it is available without restrictions, focusing instead on novelty, entertainment, disruption and fun fed by the internet. As Madalena Lobo tells us, at the head of the Psychology Workshop, to talk about youth is to talk about ageing: “What’s the motivation to listen to what the guy with the white beard is telling us? To value him as a privileged source of wisdom that can make a difference in the survival of the individual and his tribe no longer makes sense…”. The world has accelerated in an unimaginable way, “leaving even the most agile without breath. The divorce between the landscape that changes faster and faster and the eyes that process it in slower and slower ways, makes it not very inclusive for those who keep adding on years.” At the same time that age becomes almost of secondary importance — it is more dictated by lifestyle and way of being in life than with biological age. And the 30s are now proclaimed as the new 20s and so on, the dominant aesthetic concepts, fed by fashion and advertising, stubbornly resist change. We now see all races and measures, but age still remains outside of the box. Aesthetics, as far as human beings are concerned, is commanded by the laws of attraction which, in turn, are commanded by biological imperatives. Attractive is the human being who guarantees that the good genes of the species will be the dominant ones in the next generation — the young people in fertile age” and it is clear that, historically, prejudice is more attached to women, who feel the weight of the “expiry period”. Men always have the charm. Therefore, the women are almost always the youngest elements in relationships. Will the last taboo of seduction to fall be age? As we want to continue to be desired and loved, we stretch time to postpone the inevitable in an inglorious struggle: “From hydrating creams full of components of scientific miracles that give us the skin of a 20-year old, to democratized plastic surgery; from diets as healthy as spirulina, which will send mortality into reverse, to the dozens of drugs with which we sustain the chronic themes of the progressive biological maladjustment; from scientific studies that become bad titles of popular newspapers and tell us that if we do crossword puzzles we are going to have a head as fresh as our grandchildren’s. (...) The scientific advances in health are extraordinary, but it is their unbridled interpretation and conveyed to a subliminal cultural expectation that — exactly and adequately — creates a focus on older people, that transmits a message of ‘shame on you’! This elderly thing is your fault!” Because we were all children, but many of us are not yet old. Our brain “does one thing that is inherently healthy: it assumes that we are not on the same continuum, but that they are different categories, I belong to this one, which relieves me of the other. Full stop. Happy and content, because I’ll always be young and I’ll never be part of the natural composting mechanism.”
PORTUGUESE SOUL
157
Old men and rags Text / Patricia Domingues
Prejudice against age is not just a number: it’s real. And it’s well preserved, in statistics, in people and also in fashion. Our fear of growing old is so great that we don’t even allow ourselves to do it in style. But why is that?
None of the people who are reading this article, not even the one who is writing it, are becoming younger. I know, it’s ground-breaking. We’re all getting older. Believe me, it happens to the best. No matter how many anti-wrinkle creams we rub in, if we refrain from saying our age, not least because that is not something you ask a lady, none of us are becoming younger — and yet it seems that the only effort we have made is to convince ourselves otherwise. From politics to the catwalks, older people are invisible to the eye, when, as we have known since we read The Little Prince, that is always the essential thing. Prejudice about age seems like a thing of the last century, but it is very present in 2019. We use diminutives when referring to someone older. We assume they’re at retirement age. We think that we have less ability to make decisions as we get older. These ideas are so deep-rooted that it is likely that you have already spoken them more than once. “Oh, it’s just age stuff.” But no, it’s called.. ageism. Similar to concepts such as racism or sexism, ageism refers to attitudes and practices of discrimination (usually negative) based on one more characteristic that we cannot circumvent — age. We tend to look at older people as part of a homogenous and undifferentiated group, with disdain and a paternalistic attitude towards older people that ultimately results in abuse and ill-treatment. You’ve never heard of it before? Ask your grandfather. One in three Portuguese over the age of 80 say they’ve already been treated unfairly because of their age. The Portuguese Victim Support Association reports a 30% increase in complaints from this age group between 2013 and 2016. In addition to undermining people’s well-being — and being so out of fashion — this kind of prejudice can cause serious problems for older people (which is like saying, to everyone). Those who have a negative attitude towards ageing, for example, recover more slowly from health problems, live seven years shorter than those who have a positive view and have less chance of being socially integrated, says the World Health Organization. However, by 2015 there was still no official publication of the UN and WHO recognizing age discrimination in the world. We now see, for the first time, that these organisations have created a longterm campaign to combat the problem, which began this year and ends in 2030. The world seems to be finally tackling the elephant in the room — but what about the one in Fashion? In March 2016, after a frustrating afternoon of shopping with her mother, 24-year-old Jacynth Bassett created The Bias-Cut.com.It is a website selling clothing and accessories for any age that has since been turned into a movement “where ageism is never in fashion”. As a law graduate, there was nothing that would predict Jacynth’s future lay in the fashion industry, but that particular event, and a number of similar complaints from her mother’s friends, made her see the opportunity not only to create a sustainable business but also to change
158
PORTUGUESE SOUL
mindsets. “The passion for fashion, or the simple fact that you want to look good, has nothing to do with the decade you were born in,” she said in a statement to The Guardian. Among the list of dislikes of her now satisfied customers was the in-store service, the lack of online representation and, to sum up the obvious, the fact that they felt left out. In the shops they found nothing that did not have boring written all over it, sets of sweatshirts and jackets, elasticated trousers and a whole series of pieces that suggested a dress code in which the body was conveniently covered with layers. Needless to say, her site is a success. We don’t even need to have wi-fi, just look at the statistics: a study by the London College of Fashion found that 97% of women aged between 40 and 89 want to see older models in advertising. It sounds like a basic lesson in economics: if older women are looking for clothes, where is the supply? I know what you’re thinking. In 2015, Irish Apfel, 93, led the campaign for Kate Spade. This was a great year: Joan Didion, 81, became the face of Céline and Joni Mitchell, around her 70s, the face of Saint Laurent. In 2017, Lauren Hutton was the body of Calvin Klein’s lingerie at 73, and there are plenty of examples, such as Joan Collins for beauty giant Charlotte Tilbury this year and, just a few months ago, Jane Fonda was on the cover of English Vogue. That’s great. But these aren’t exactly names unknown to the general public. And they weren’t when they were young. These are divas, banners, icons — a curious word that only seems to appear as time goes by. Besides, isn’t the fact that they’re making that list based on age, in itself, a little... dated? After the catwalks started to represent different kinds of bodies and skin tones, the older models still haven’t received an invitation to the ‘inclusivity’ party. In a November 2019 article, High Snobiety questioned whether Fashion actually had a problem with age. Aside from the sporadic returns of supermodels, agencies like Grey, or models like Maye Musk, who is 69, the exceptions are just that: “We’ve long been programmed to believe that youth and beauty are synonymous, but this fetishization has allowed us to explore younger models and has contributed to erasing older women — despite their purchasing power,” writes author Jake Hall. The question that prevents Fashion from dressing older people — in particular women — is far from being answered right now. But what about us? At a time when the age pyramid is inverted, where the world and national population is getting older and older, why do we keep taking baby steps to avoid the inevitable? “For me the ‘problem’ with ageing is that we have the feeling that we are ‘getting lost’ because we have created an identity that is very much based on image and appearance (social media are increasingly promoting this social persona). It is as if our identity were a table that at the moment is mainly supported in one area: that of the image. Although we have other things that define us, the truth is that this area is one of the ones that carries the most weight and
is one of the areas where we receive the most social feedback (which increases its importance). We continue to strengthen the ‘leg of the image’ on our table, and the challenge is that sooner or later this leg will lose its joviality, and then we are confronted with an unstable structure (because we have not fed the other legs of the table) that we have built,” explains Helena Morais Cardoso, therapist dedicated to personal development. But who said getting old was a bad thing? Ding, ding, ding: we did. Prejudices are socially created beliefs, a kind of “generalized truths that a certain culture creates on a certain theme and that when we grow with them we inevitably appropriate them, and then they also become ours”. If old age is represented in a negative way, or not at all, we grow to assume that it is something we do not want to be part of — the strange thing here is that we have created this stigma with a process that, if all goes well, we will all go through. Is our old fear of death speaking louder? The psychologist believes “that there is widespread resistance to dealing with it, in my opinion, because we have created a society that is too attached to its aesthetics”. Suddenly, we look in the mirror and we’re not like we used to be. Each wrinkle takes another breath of life from us, a little more of ourselves, or of the image we have stuck to who we are. The solution may be deeper and will take longer, and involves deconstructing this culture of image and fostering a more structured creation of identity (and self-esteem), supported on various areas that compose us, creating more robust self-conceptsand which are not so
vulnerable to external changes. Self-esteem is a word that, contrary to ageing, is very ‘fashionable’, but what good is it to spend afternoons with fabric masks glued to our faces if we continue to perpetuate dogmas about ourselves that are more resistant (and corrosive) than any face treatment? Self-esteem, as Helena explains about her area of expertise, is an inner mental concept (as its name suggests) but one that we build socially: “What is around us influences our self-esteem, because it is social information that gives us the parameters with which we compare ourselves and indicates whether or not we are adequate,” she says, “This influence of our environment on our self-esteem can happen in its formation, through such models of comparison (which are like the goals by which we guide ourselves through life) or may occur later during our entire life, as the information I receive from the outside confirms or refutes my beliefs about myself. For example, if I build self-esteem that fosters a feeling that I am not enough (because I am not as thin as I should be) then all the stimuli that I receive and that confirm that information (thin models in the media, people in bikinis on the beach, etc.) will reinforce that image that I have of myself, I will feel even more insufficient and inadequate.” Can you imagine now how older people feel? In the book O Envelhecimento da Sociedade Portuguesa (The Ageing of Portuguese Society), Maria João Valente Rosa argues that the real problem is not
PORTUGUESE SOUL
159
in the ageing of the population, but in the ageing of society, that is, in what societies have not changed since they began to age. It is necessary to drastically change the way we think about the role of older people — and that includes how we talk about them or dress them (FYI: The following are some of the meanings available in the dictionary for the word “old”: ‘advanced in age, obsolete, ancient, very used, antiquated’.) If we are all getting older and think that old people have no value, what does that say about the future? What about us? “There’s still a long way to go,” says Helena. “Maybe more than changing the ‘anti-age terms’ [as the magazine Allure did in October 2018] it is important to normalise ageing. In my opinion, the way forward will be more through the acceptance of natural ageing, and this can be done by introducing more content/persons/models that approach their ageing naturally and that show how it feels to age naturally.” Representativeness. Campaigns like New Balance’s latest. Fashion shows such as the spring/summer 2020 ones of Balenciaga. Covers like those of September’s Vogue Brasil, with 69-year-old Sonia Braga on the cover. Models aged 40, 50, 60, 70, and so on, in lookbookswebsites, editorials, campaigns, tutorials, Instagram pages. Within distance of our eyes. Present. “It is precisely in ‘contradicting’ some beliefs that it is very important to bring representativeness (I like to call it humanization) because the more examples of diversity I receive from the outside, the less I feel inadequate because I am different (from the mental model I have created) and the more I feel I can be accepted,” argues Helena. “The more different standards I receive from the outside the more I take strength from the inner belief that ‘I should be so,’ the more I open space for a new belief that it is possible to be socially accepted even though I am ‘different from the standard’ (which I created) and I subject myself less to comparison (the great source of lack of affection for ourselves) which facilitates self-acceptance. The fact that I socially observe other forms of existence, similar to my own, fosters my self-acceptanceand makes me distance
160
PORTUGUESE SOUL
myself from the inner model I have created, which generates inner space so that I can be free to live my skin.” “I’ve never prepared myself to grow old. I only realised this relatively recently,” writes Nazaré Pinela, via Instagram, followed by many exclamation marks, as will happen in most of the conversation. As I imagine it happened in almost all her life, from the period in London (!), the return to Lisbon (!!), the dedication to the world of music (!!!) and the incredible tattoo shop that she created, Bang Bang(!!!!). As also happened when she suffered physical and psychological aggressions for the simple fact of being different from the norm, for being herself, without excuses. For deciding not to change for anything or anyone. For being free. In between, there are still many exclamation marks to be made for a life lived in its entirety. Like the name she inherited from her grandmother, but that’s all. She says she was always the opposite of her family. My great influence comes from the cinema, photos and, of course, from rock’n’roll!!” All of her is a cinematic image: the hair that was once of all colours, the body covered with tattoos, the style that is only hers in the same measure that is a piece of history. Yes, Nazaré is a woman who makes heads turn, because she’s everything the prejudices least imagine when we think of someone born in the 1960s. Why did we put style on shelves, too? Why do we have this habit of cutting off the fun when its only halfway through, imposing rules and hem heights that do not favour anyone but stereotypes? There are no right or wrong ways to grow old. Do you want to celebrate your grey hair? Go ahead. Do you want to use botox? Wonderful. Feeling good about yourself doesn’t have an expiry date. That’s how Nazaré answers when I ask her what her clothes say “if I convey any message, it will always be that of freedom.” Exclamation mark.
Photo: Nobrand’s Campaign
93rd edition 11 ď€ 14.01.2020 Riva del Garda | Italy
co-located with
Riva del Garda Fierecongressi SpA
www.exporivaschuh.it
Parco Lido Exhibition Centre / via Baltera 20
T. +39 0464 520000
#ExpoRivaSchuh #Gardabags
A Tem-Plate for fashion Text / Cláudia Pinto Photos / Tomás Monteiro
Every project has a story. So…to start I just want to understand why was this project born? Robbie: (laughs) Everybody always ask the same questions. Ron and I, we met each other at a business conference in London about four years ago… Ron: Three and a half… Robbie: It was in a Farfetch conference. We were both invited there as fashion directors and we didn’t know each other. So, I was working for my previous company in Belgium and Ron for his previous company in Denmark-Copenhagen. At the final cocktail party we were introduced to each other and we started talking and exchanging ideas about how we see retail and the future of retail and apparently we had some ideas in common and we were on the same page, so we just said for a joke: “yeah, why don’t we open our own shop?”. Literally two weeks later, Ron visited me in Belgium and we started working on the first draft of the business plan. The ideas and the DNA of how our shop would look, execute and a brand portfolio. That was the first step. After a year we developed what
162
PORTUGUESE SOUL
we were working on and then we started travelling to East China to find investment for it. We found an angel investor for this project and I think we took another six months before we started… Ron: And then all was very quick from there. We knew the architects we wanted to work with, we had the idea of the ambience and feel. So we had a quick meeting with the… we wrote to them and one week after we had the first meeting about going through ideas and going through like of course all the DNA of TEM-PLATE how we saw TEMPLATE, because at that time there was nothing physical, just words. So it all started from there. Of course the space is important, we love the location here because we really believe that this area is the up and coming part of Lisbon. All the old factories, you have to feel the creativity of the galleries around here, from all the communication. It’s a good environment for creative people… And Portugal was the first option when you started thinking about this project? Robbie: No. We first visited a couple of cities in the
research period and Lisbon was the last on our list, but we felt that regarding to what we wanted to do it was the best option: distribution wise, execution wise. We also understood very quickly that Portugal is growing and Lisbon is certainly growing with all the incoming investment from abroad. The golden visa programme, Google is coming here, all the artists are coming here to start companies, so we really think tourism is growing, Asian tourism is growing as well. So for us all those elements together made us to decide to go for Lisbon. This concept is really different in the city, I think. It’s something really new… Robbie: Yes, yes! Also compared to other cities. Most multi-brands we know today are boutiques. What we try to do is create a gallery atmosphere… we are trying to showcase the risky pieces, so we are not only showing white T-shirts, goodies and sneakers, like most of the shops in Europe. We also try to bring pieces from the catwalk or more difficult pieces. We are in an online platform, so you can buy and see a full selection of our collection,
because we don’t show everything in the store. The exceptional pieces… Ron: We rotate all the collections once a month, once every second month. We have a…. house and here we showcase the collection that goes in different directions. And according to the direction we want to expose then we select what brands we have in the shop for this period. But online you can find the full selection of all brands. So you analyse the consumers’ choices to determine what you will exhibit here? How do you choose what to put in the store? Robbie: I think our general strategy is really to buy things you won’t see in all the other shops because we are an online store. It doesn’t make sense also to buy a goodie from Off White that all the other shops in Europe retail. Because the world is very big and not everybody has the same taste and we believe there are people who have a different kind of wardrobe from most other people. So I think that’s the strategy: dare to buy risky and a bit different.
Ron: But it is also very important to us that the people who come to the physical space can understand the direction and the meaning of the different collections. And have some experience, right? Robbie: Yes, yes! Ron: Also yes. Each season we will have pop up exhibitions with selected brands that we work with. How are the customers reacting to this? You have tourists, locals… Robbie: I would say it’s very mixed right now. For example, the Portuguese customer is very happy with certain brands we brought to Portugal, to Lisbon, that have never been on the market here, like Thom Browne, Maison Margiela, Loewe. There is a Loewe store in Lisbon, but it only has bags and small leather goods, so this is the first time that the ready to wear range is here physically. They are really reacting very well to that because it wasn’t established here like Coach, Saint Laurent, Prada, Stella McCartney and Tom Ford. So we are really bringing something different… And then you have Asian tourism and we see that they really go for specific products. Ron: We have a number of Japanese and Chinese streetwear brands, like Ready Made and Mastermind, that are only available in 10-15 selected shops worldwide. So it’s really like a special product. It’s the idea that the people come here and see things that they really don’t expect to see and can’t find anywhere else. C: This is new type of luxury. Do you agree? Robbie: Yes, it is! I have a major question that is about retail: we are suffering a lot of changes in retail. Do you feel that and why is this happening? Robbie: Well I think you always have to drive an existing store to a fresh new concept and of course, as I said, we didn’t want to be something you have already. We didn’t want to be a copy from a store in Italy or in Spain or whatever. We wanted to do something different, to bring about this change. And I think if you are an existing store and it’s also our task existing couple of years of trying to reinvent our DNA while trying to stay fresh and meet the needs of the market with your DNA. You don’t
PORTUGUESE SOUL
163
have to lose yourself. A very good example we have here in the store is a brand that comes from France, Maison … , it’s a leather goods brand that opened its doors at the same time as Louis Vuitton and Goyard. Everybody knows them, but Maison… not really, because they were discovered just fifteen years ago in an old castle in France, and we see we are selling them to people that don’t want to have the Vuitton or the Hérmes or the Goyard, and it’s mostly the Asians. But they want to have something with a lot of quality? Robbie: Yeah! Quality… you don’t want to carry something that everybody is carrying. So I think you really have to listen to that and reinvent yourself. So yes, there’s a lot of change, but we still believe there’s people who want to buy luxury, but a different luxury you know? So… Ron: So, it’s really important to stand out and to have your own, specific and unique DNA. Customers nowadays can find everything online. They travel a lot, they are very wise and very educated about what is happening in the world and if you cannot respond to that as a shop, the customers will always go to other spaces. It’s about knowing your customer, knowing the market and really reacting to market changes as well. Do you have any plans to grow in the future or is it a secret? Robbie: Of course we have. Yes, yes, we are working on several things that are close to something really new that we are going to launch, but for now we prefer to stay quiet.
164
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Ron: And the change is going to be about the shop here and organising even more events and doing more collaborations with brands and to host a bit more. Now it’s like ready to wear and fashion, but there’s a lot of businesses around you… And you think you really have a connection with art? It’s not only about fashion but also about art… Robbie: It is already. You see a lot of brands are working with artists. Ron: The brands we have… of course Comme des garçons they are working together. Quite a few of the brands that we have are already working in collaborations with artists. They are limited, so there aren’t all the shops that can buy, but we’ve been very lucky that they have selected us as one of the shops they want to use to sell their collections. And there will be a lot more coming very soon. Why the name TEM-PLATE? Ron: It’s really from the definition of “template“. This is one model that what we have here. This is going to be the mother of the TEM-PLATE universe. Robbie: And literally started from blank sheets of paper when Ron visited me two weeks after our meeting in London. We started with a blank sheet of paper and began working and making drafts and frames… a template. Very easy…
Portuguese abroad Sofia Silva Text / Paulo Gonรงalves Photo / Nuno Santiago
166
PORTUGUESE SOUL
She was born in S. João da Madeira, one of the epicentres of the Portuguese footwear industry. Sofia Silva studied business management at the University of Porto, but it was in Milan, at the famous Bocconi, that the universe of design, luxury and fashion definitely won her over. She started her professional career at PwC, and worked for Guess and Sephora. But, it is at Dsquared2 that she stands out. “All the experiences have been very enriching,” she adds. For Sofia Silva, “Fashion companies live a constant dilemma, which involves finding the necessary balance between the financial sustainability of a company and the creative area”. Sofia Silva is the Retail Franchising Manager of the Italian brand, promoting the connection between the company and the more than 20 single-brand stores in a franchising regime, in particular in the Middle East and Asia.
You were born in a city with a strong connection to a fashion sector, footwear. Has working in the world of fashion always been a goal or a coincidence? It was clearly a coincidence. This desire arose after having finished my Erasmus placement in Milan, and having taken a course linked to Fashion Management. I guess that’s when my doubts dissipated. The fact that you studied in Italy changed your perception of things? It wasn’t really changing the perception of things, but it was more about deepening and learning everything I know about this sector. And I don’t know everything. On the contrary: learning is a constant and it is never enough. You work at Dsquared2 today. What else fulfils you in the functions you perform? It fulfils me that I am in constant contact with cultures and ways of thinking that are different from mine and, as a consequence, the way I approach people from different countries with different cultures and ways of thinking. More specifically about my area, the fact that a product with good sales in Europe is no guarantee of sales in other markets. You need to understand, visit and understand the different forms of the consumer buying process, be it Asian, Arabic, etc. It is really very enriching and makes you grow, not only professionally, but also on a personal level. You regularly travel the world. In what ways can cultural habits influence a brand’s commercial strategy?
I think that a brand’s business strategy should have a global approach in order to be easily recognised around the world. But in order to develop smartly in markets that are more distant and different from ours, it is necessary to first study the economic situation of the region, how the city where the brand will be present is structured, identify an ideal location for the brand, preferably close to competitors (or aspirational competitors), position it correctly in terms of price and, very importantly, have the product adapted to that market. Knowledge of certain territories and their specificities is crucial to success. Can you give us some examples? Do you want to succeed in China? You need to open a store in Hong Kong first. In the footwear area? You can focus on approaching South Africa, because the symbol status of people can be seen by what they put on their feet. You can’t, for example, sell a four-inch heel in China, because nobody wears it. Or they’re gonna go crazy with bling bling shoes full of glitter. What plans do you have for your future? My plan is to be happy and have iron-clad health for many years with my family. It is also important to have a job that fulfils me personally and professionally. One day I would really like to work with a Portuguese brand that intends to expand into more distant markets.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
167
www.portugueseshoes.pt
Special thanks:
MODAPORTUGAL
KIDS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
ON E OF T H E BOY S Images / Celso Colaรงo Styling / Fernando Bastos Pereira
All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato; Trucker jacket: Weekday
Sandals: Fly London; All clothes: Hugo Costa
All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato
Sneakers: Valuni; All clothes and harness: Hugo Costa; Tank top: Topman
Sneakers: Exceed Shoe Thinkers; All clothes: David Catalรกn
Harness: Hugo Costa; Tank top: Topman
Sneakers: Nobrand; All clothes: Hugo Costa
All clothes: Hugo Costa
Boots: Nobrand; All clothes: Hugo Costa; Beanie: stylists own
Trucker jacket: Levi’s; Jumpsuit: Inês Torcato
Sneakers: J. Reinaldo; All clothes: Hugo Costa; Beanie: stylists own
Sneakers: Bolflex; All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato; Trucker jacket: Weekday
Shoes: Wolf & Son; All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato
All clothes: Hugo Costa
Sneakers: Bolflex; All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato; Trucker jacket: Weekday
Production: Snowberry Photographer assistant: Pedro Amorim Styling assistant: Nelson Lima Make-up: Patrícia Lima Hair: Rui Rocha Models: Jan-Leon ‘Face Models’, Jeanne Cremers ‘Dominique Models’, Lucas Ribeiro ‘Karacter Agency’
All clothes: InĂŞs Torcato; Trucker jacket: Weekday
R ACH I DE E M BA L ร Images / Frederico Martins Styling / Nelly Gonรงalves
Blazer and shirt: Heartcore Vintage
Shoes: Mocc’s; Blazer and Pants: Miguel Vieira
Blazer and Pants: Ermenegildo Zegna; Shirt: LuĂs Carvalho
Blazer and Pants: Miguel Vieira
Shoes: RCM; Blazer and Pants: Ermenegildo Zegna; Shirt: LuĂs Carvalho
Shoes: Centenรกrio; Blazer and Pants: Miguel Vieira
Shoes: Carlos Santos; Jeans: Just.O; Shirt: Heartcore Vintage
Shoes: LuĂs Onofre; Jeans: Just.O; Blazer and shirt: Heartcore Vintage
Shoes: Mocc’s; Bag: Marta Ponti; Total look: David Catalán
Bag: Belcinto; Shirt: Heartcore Vintage
Blazer and pants: Cerruti 1881
Production: Diogo Oliveira @Lalaland Studios Photographer assistants: Pedro Sá and Michael Matsoukas Make-up: Patrícia Lima Hair: Rui Rocha Model: Rachide Embaló ‘We are Models’
Shoes: Valuni; Total look: Missoni
Fashion is a stage Text / Patrícia Barnabé
The ModaLisboa Workstation displays the work of promising designers for spring-summer 2020 and the only limits are the four walls of the Sinel de Cordes palace in Lisbon. Photographers and illustrators were also invited to this multidisciplinary platform, but fashion is the centre of attention. And literally when the rooms where the photographs of Natural Beauty are hanging, an exhibition of the Architecture Triennale, are filled to admire a return to performance. Fashion feels at home in revivalism, even more so in a space of freedom and experimentation. In the first room, António Castro takes us into a hedonistic and nocturnal hallucination, the pieces illuminated by lanterns that a group whirls around: “A game of seduction where the lights create dynamics and a certain difficulty of concentration, taking the at-
Archie Dickens
208
PORTUGUESE SOUL
tention to the clothes and the detail.” The characters “that do not fit” are designer Constança Entrudo, dj João Viegas and others, “political agents, like my clothes,” he says. The idea of performance is perfect: “What interests me is how clothes teach us how to act, how to move, the character we wear or we discard. Having a man in a bodice can be an interesting trigger, and one that bothers me, but what interests me is the agent of change.” He studied textile design at Central Saint Martins in London, dividing his time between this city and Paris, and a touch of Brit can be noted inspired by the Bright Young Things group of the photographer Cecil Beaton and by the DIY of punk, but designed for “aristocrats, poets and artists” of a generation open to the world, who take jeans and dresses from the flea market and take them apart to create something new.
Opiar
Rita Afonso studied Architecture and Fashion in Porto, she passed through the Sangue Novo [New Blood] competition of ModaLisboa and presented herself as ‘Rita Afonso leaning against a palm tree’. Amadeu is dressed by a circle of girls who play together like children.”always in a bib and with clothes either too loose or too tight. Clothes inherited from his cousins, Joaninha and João. That’s why Amadeu rarely wears the colour he likes best and the length of the sleeve rarely reaches the end of his arm”, we read in the presentation text, with candour and humour in balanced doses: “(...) the important thing is to put on another jacket, don’t let the boy get cold”. Archie Dickens studied textile design and went into fashion after a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art. His knits come out of a workshop at Anjos 70, in Lisbon and the process goes a long way: “Sometimes I get carried away just fiddling about on the machine!” The collection SAPAL is inspired foremost “by the plants I have accumulated around me, but also by the transition zone between the sea and the forest — the fluidity of change and the crispness of new growth. I wanted to create a small wardrobe for summer that could be worn on the beach or at the dining table”. It is a mixed collection comprised of beachwear and conceptual dresses, but also three men’s looks to “approach the more feminine side”. His love of knitting came from his mum: “She is a knitter and a weaver and spins her own yarn out of the wool from the sheep in our field at
home in Devon, England — so this appreciation of the handmade and a uniquely personal design process began at an early age!” Artur Dias was at ease with his minimalist and fluid Opiar, since fashion design was a complement to his know-how as a performer: “So, besides being able to live the stage, I can create for the stage”, he tells us. He decided on a “flatter and easier to read” collection, because he wanted the public to interact with the pieces, but could analyse more deeply the theme and the motto of this collection, the letter: “To go from letters and phrases to bodies and clothes in a contemporary dance work. This letter is written from the future to the past, from light to darkness, from resilience to agony”, always concerned with “the detail, grandeur and rigour”, Artur returns to his dance origins in a collection that is “intimate and natural, as if it were about breathing”, and this proximity between designer and viewer couldn’t be happier, “through the direct exchange of ideas and emotions.” Cristina Real studied at Modatex and, like Artur, showed her work at Sangue Novo. But she prefers this format to a simple runway show: “The audience interacts with the pieces and have a different perception of them, being able to better understand the fabrics, the details, etc.” The Chapter Eleven collection is, in her words, “the transmission of memories from an old family photo. Like a movie from the past with the emergence of a present future, the need to
PORTUGUESE SOUL
209
Federico Protto
continue — the sequel.” Distinct decades are exalted acknowledging the nostalgia of a lost childhood, but ones also feel “an ode to technology — arcade, computers, cassettes, radio, TV, and the television universe (advertising, cartoons, telesales, marathon and no signal) — futurism, pop culture, the extravagance, exaggeration, volume and colourism of the 80’s. (...) a fantasy where everything is turned upside down and nothing is clear.” Federico Protto was in the last room, a dramatic collection were it not inspired on ‘Antigone’ part of Antigone, by Sophocles. He graduated from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where Hussein Chalayan and Bern-
210
PORTUGUESE SOUL
hard Willhelm were his teachers. He lives and works between Budapest and Vienna, and his work combines fashion, costumes and styling with art, musical performance and theory. This is “one of the most analyzed and interpreted Greek tragedies. Now, the protagonist is spent. Antigone doesn’t want to be a material, but a role model.” So Federico designs a collection of costumes “created for an interdisciplinary event that involves performance, dance, video, music and theatre”, which was performed at the Schwere Reiter theatre in Munich, and at ModaLisboa it is presented as a site-specific installation.
Photos: ModaLisboa
Ivo Baldé: the new boy in town Text / Cláudia Pinto Photo / Frederico Martins for GQ Step by step, with one foot in front of the other, Ivo Baldé had been gaining ground nationally and overseas. Ivo’s only been in the fashion world for two years but the young man is already drawing attention.
How did your journey start?
What has surprised you the most within the fashion world?
I wanted to follow a path within the artistic environment since I was young. I always liked the acting field. So, one day I gained courage and went to Lisbon for a casting for my agency, Face Models. I started when I was 19 and three months later I went to work in Milan. I’m persistent and I’ve always believed that I could make a career out of this.
First of all, there’s an illusion. I thought it would be a world full of magic, where everything happened easily. But when you’re inside, you have to be smart, focused and highly disciplined. Besides that, I believe personality is very important in this environment. Therefore, I always try to bring good energy and a positive vibe into each job.
Did you imagine being where you are today when you started two years ago?
What are your biggest dreams?
I remember being in a job interview, two years ago, and being asked where I saw myself five years from then. Back then I already said I wanted to be on the cover of magazines. It seemed a faraway dream but things are really happening. I gradually have more and more jobs. But I know I’m only 21 and that I still have a long road ahead of me.
212
PORTUGUESE SOUL
To make it internationally. I’d also like to focus on acting. And, naturally, go to Hollywood. I also like the entrepreneurial field a lot. I studied management and I believe that, in addition to talent, there has to be a knowledge base.
Move Forwards My kingdom in a pair of shoes Text / Patrícia Barnabé
214
PORTUGUESE SOUL
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, all fashion fans dreamed of having a pair of Ana Salazar shoes, glued to the window of her store in Chiado. For the designer, everything can start with the shoes. The great painter Paula Rego came to Portugal to exhibit her work at the Belém Cultural Centre many years ago, “and the first thing she said to me when I arrived at the inauguration was: ‘Aaah, Ana, not having your shoes has been a great loss to me!’”, she laughs, sitting relaxed in her large living room. “I found it terribly amusing.” And when Joana Vasconcelos modelled on the catwalk for Ana Salazar, Portugal’s most popular artist already wore shoes of the best known fashion designer. “And when she found out the store was going to close she bought several pairs of shoes.” There are many women in the world of arts, letters and communication who have lived in Ana Salazar shoes. An elite bored with the classic model of what was supposed to be a woman, an elite with visual culture, a lot of worldly know-how and an idea of the future. Her shoes were a symbol of something new and capable, they raised self-esteem, but they also provided comfort, in the measure of a capital that cannot, and should not, stop: “Many people talk about my shoes because they occupied a niche market that is still rare today: platform heels. It’s not a very feminine shoe, like a Jimmy Choo, but it gives comfort and height and elegance, it always adds to the wearer.” Any girl knows that this is the fashion dream come true. “Of course when a woman wears a high heeled shoe everyone likes it, in fact normally only women in high heels are liked. But when you wear a different shoe, most don’t applaud.” During adolescence, Ana Salazar wore ballet flats, “I never really liked heels, nor the really high and thin heels that only look good on very thin women with a fabulous walk, which is very rare”. Afterwards, walking on Lisbon’s uneven sidewalk is not like parading through the impeccable streets of the fashion capitals: “A thicker heel is more comfortable and safer. Of course, shoes are one of the treasures of her wardrobe, which she buys out of passion: “I buy the shoes and then I find out what looks good with them,” even if she has to buy new clothes. Although original, Ana never liked what she calls “silly shoes.” “For me, the shoe has to go with everything, even the hairstyle”. And she really likes masculine shoes, “they look great in an evening dress with lace or transparencies, for example. A man’s shoe, a brogue, good and very special.” She is wearing Miu Miu platform heel sandals studded with big shimmering stones. She had been dreaming of a pair of Prada male shoes in demand, and ended up opting for these on one of her trips to Milan. “They are super comfortable, almost tractors”, she says in her wellknown joking manner. It is quite unusual to see her wearing shoes with ornaments, she has always preferred smooth leather models, sometimes suede or varnish, almost always in black or derivations of brown, earth or neutral tones. For her, the red or brightly coloured shoe doesn’t have the same charm. The notions of feminine and sexy have evolved a lot, but a Latin country that so often confuses that with low-cut, short or figure-hugging, has not always understood the minimal and futuristic
Photos: ModaLisboa FW 11/12
PORTUGUESE SOUL
215
good taste of Ana Salazar, inspired by Japanese designers, by definition more conceptual and with a punk attitude that does not fit with tradition: “My clothes stressed the lines of the body without marking them out, and most women wear tight clothes.” Her shoes were a revolution and, like everything else that is not obvious, the conservatives told us those clothes were unsexy. “They were simple and comfortable, that’s why so many people liked them.” But they had more than that: a modern design thought for women who live in the city, who have things to do, the world to walk around in, and are in a rush. Then, there were her shoes, ankle boots, sandals, Ana de-
216
PORTUGUESE SOUL
signed all kinds of shoes, they lasted and lasted: “I’ve always worked with great factories, we have excellent manufacturers and I’ve always been able to put my ideas into practice”. Made in Portugal, but she sold in Paris, even before opening her store: “One day I was in a shoe store where I used to go called Sasha and the owner asked me where I bought the shoes I was wearing. ‘They are made in Portugal’, I replied. “How can I get them to sell them here?’ he said, “I can get them for you,” I replied. “I’m interested in 400 pairs,” he replied. Ana laughs, for it was three times more than what she manufactured for her store in Lisbon. “I immediately called the manufacturer in Portugal, and the next day he had sold 400 pairs of shoes to Paris.”
New Brand In Yuti
They say they’re a woman’s best friend. We’re talking about jewellery, not necessarily diamonds, just jewellery. Exclusive, elegant accessories. The sector has been growing year after year in Portugal, and new projects are born every day. Yuti is one such example: an independent brand of contemporary and handcrafted jewellery. Each piece is produced with high quality leather, carefully selected. All of the leather and hides used in the production of the pieces are purchased from local dealers and manufacturers. The project started in 2019. Although she has a degree in Business Organisation and Administration, creation
218
PORTUGUESE SOUL
has always been part of Sónia Teles’s essence. Creating pieces to offer to friends and family and, who knows, steal a smile or a hug from them. It is with this intention that Yuti Design is born, with a clear mission of social responsibility. 10% of Yuti Design’s profits go to national social welfare institutions, with the aim of giving back and contributing to better quality of life and supporting the most vulnerable and neglected children and young people.
W W W . M A R T A P O N T I . C O M
ModaLisboa Text / Cláudia Pinto Photos / Tomás Monteiro
“COLLECTIVE is the belief in union. It is plurality in a single word. It is the desire to never stop innovating and growing.” For four days across five locations, national Fashion took over Lisbon. From 10-13 October, the Antigas Oficinas Gerais de Fardamento e Equipamento do Exército played host to ModaLisboa. A space that was opened to the city for the first time, where Portuguese creators put their designs for summer 2020 on the catwalk. There were a total of 22 shows with 37 collections presented to a domestic and international audience of 25,000 visitors. And, once more, footwear featured strongly at ModaLisboa. After the fashion happenings from the young designers of Workstation at Palácio Sinel de Cordes and the Fast Talks at
Mercado de Santa Clara, during the second day, the young designers from Sangue Novo showed the future of the Portuguese fashion on the catwalk. Also, on the second day, Pátio das Laranjeiras was filled with music and dance for the APICCAPS Happening. Dozens of dancers, accompanied by the music of DJ Fred, presented the best of Portuguese footwear. The day ended with an asymmetries’ game from Valentim Quaresma collection, called Manifesto, and the proposals of Awaytomars — which prompted the question: is there life in Mars? Nuno Gama opened the third day with a journey around the
Luís Carvalho
220
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Photos: Tomás Monteiro
Gonçalo Peixoto
Luís Onofre
world of Saint-Exupéry, with a collection inspired by The Little Prince. João Magalhães shows his proposals afterwards.
Highlighting Portuguese footwear
Patrick de Pádua presented, with the Ambitious footwear brand, the “Call Me” collection. Inspired by the Club Kids, the designer “explored the fun side of the season, with prints, patches and patterns in a total look.
Off the catwalk, Portuguese footwear was in the spotlight at the exhibition “The skin we wear”. For three days, visitors could see the best in the production of leather shoes. “An industry like the footwear industry is full of traditions, but on its shoulders it also bears the burden of being pioneering, innovative, improving. This responsibility shares a home with influence, the two walking directly hand-in-hand. This has to be the only philosophy of those who create and make on a planet that increasingly requires our respect.”
The day continued with the presentations of Ricardo Preto, Decenio by Alexandra Moura and Aleksandar Protic. On the third day, Luís Onofre, through his partnership with Portugal Fashion, presented Eivissa, a collection “with the aura of light of a summer between Ibiza and Mykonos, which marks the creator’s return to unexpected combinations of colours and materials, and, at the same time, the reinvention of the brand in a new sustainable paradigm. The animal skins have been replaced with fabrics while wood and cork have given shape to the heels.” O dia terminou com as propostas de Ricardo Andrez e Dino Alves. Olga Noronha’s presentation opened the last day of ModaLisboa, followed by Carolina Machad, who chose Panteão Nacional as the background for the presentation of her collection. The day continued with proposals from Constança Entrudo, Duarte, Gonçalo Peixoto and Kolovrat. The fashion show of Carlos Gil (powered by Portugal Fashion), with the collection Ideal Nature, presented a symbology that defines femininity through elements from Nature. Luís Carvalho ended the day on a high note with the presentation of a collection inspired by Art Déco and the silhouette from the 1920’s.
ModaLisboa and APICCAPS have presented an exhibition that wants to think about how leather, which is traditionally worked in Portugal, is now walking the path of sustainability. When treated well, leather shoes will last a lifetime — just like the planet we inhabit. The technology has advanced so much that working the leather is now less environmentally polluting than the alternatives, and the Portuguese brands represented at the exhibition are making efforts every day to discover new treatments, without chemicals or toxins, to protect the product, thereby protecting the world.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
221
Portugal Fashion Text / Cláudia Pinto Photos / Tomás Monteiro
Diogo Miranda
Following a presence at the main international fashion weeks, it was in Porto that Portugal Fashion ended its series of introductions. After 45 editions, the event brought an “ambitious and diverse” programme of shows to the Alfândega do Porto. Presented at the riverside from 23-26 October were the spring/summer 2020 collections by some of Portugal’s leading creators, as well as the commercial lines from the clothing and footwear industry and the disruptive proposals from the young designers at Bloom. In total, there were 30 collective and individual shows at the event, including by six fashion schools, 11 young national and international designers, 21 national and international creators and brands, eight footwear brands and four children’s clothing labels. “We had more conventional shows and more entertaining performances; designer labels and ready-to-wear fashion, footwear and kids’ wear; emerging and established national and international creators; fashion schools… All this without losing our focus on the quality and originality
222
PORTUGUESE SOUL
Alexandra Moura
that distinguishes Portuguese fashion”, said Mónica Neto, Portugal Fashion coordinator. The first day began with the presentations of Bloom, the platform to promote young Portuguese talents, which, in this edition, had the participation of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (National Chamber of Italian Fashion). The day ended with a crowded presentation of Katty Xiomara’s After Now collection, at Tipografia do Conto. The main happenings of the second day were from Carla Pontes, who presented Instalação da Pausa (PAUSA Installation & Market), associated to the new concepts of Slow Fashion. Estelita Mendonça e Inês Torcato were next, who literally painted the main Portugal Fashion catwalk in blue during the presentation of Stray, a genderless sustainable collection with organic, natural, vegetal recycled materials. The day ended with Nicolas Lecourt Mansion, following the presentations of David Catálan and Luís Buchinho.
Hugo Costa
The third day started with Nycole. Right after, came Diogo Miranda, who made the audience go to the riverside to see his proposals for the coming warm days. Afterwards was Sophia Kah, followed by the sustainable footwear presentation from Bolflex, Hugo Costa and Pé de Chumbo. The night ended with Miguel Vieira. The last began with the amazing gardens from Casa de Serralves as background for the duo Marques’Almeida. Right after, Alfândega do Porto was filled with light and colour from the presentations of the kids brands’ promoted by ModaPortugal. Afterwards, came the presentation of the collection Gadidae, from Alexandra Moura, a tribute to the codfish fishermen. Later on, the collective fashion show Shoes&Bags went on the main catwalk to present the proposals of eight national footwear brands. The day ended with a brilliant duo presentation of Alves/Gonçalves.
Marques’ Almeida
The ecological approach of Portuguese footwear industry The footwear sector was involved in a number of activities as part of the 45th edition of Portugal Fashion. The aim was to present a sector that, from its beginnings, has promoted sustainability and the circular economy. To start, the exhibition “Not everything in the net is fish” presented the proposals from three companies specialising in collecting plastic from beaches and the sea. It is estimated that 22 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans every year. Aware of this, AsPortuguesas, Skizo and Zouri are engaged in gathering this waste and then reusing the raw materials to develop collections that are as surprising as they are sustainable. On the third day, the stage belonged to Bolflex, a company that specialises in the components sector and which designs, produces and supplies shoe soles. Finally, eight of Portugal’s leading footwear brands took to Portugal Fashion’s main catwalk on Saturday night. Eureka, Fly London, Gladz, J. Reinaldo, MLV Portuguese Shoes, Nobrand, Rufel and The Baron’s Cage each have a common denominator: they are all specialists in the production of footwear (and leather goods), using a raw material that is food industry waste that is then recycled on an industrial scale and placed back into the production chain.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
223
HOT NEW TA L E N T S Images / Pedro Afonso Styling / Fernando Bastos Pereira
Parka: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Arm band and bra stylists own
Shoes: Filipa Moreira; Parka and shorts: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Bra stylists own
Shoes: Joana Almeida; Dress: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Bracelet: Zara Vest: Luís Buchinho; Men’s belt stylists own
Blazer: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Necklace: Zara
Shoes: Filipa Moreira; Biker and shorts: LuĂs Buchinho; Brief and bra stylists own
Biker and shorts: LuĂs Buchinho; Brief and bra stylists own
Dress and cape: LuĂs Buchinho; Necklace: Zara; Brief stylists own
Shoes Joana Almeida; Blazer: Necklace and bracelet: Men’s belt stylists own
Shoes: Ana Gonรงalves; Blazer: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Brief and bra stylists own
Shoes: Joana Almeida; Dress: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Necklace: Zara; Bra and men’s belt stylists own
Shoes BĂĄrbara Silva; Dress and cape: LuĂs Buchinho; Necklace and bracelet: Zara; Brief and bra stylists own
Production: Cláudia Pinto ‘APICCAPS’ Styling assistant: Nélson Lima Make-up: Helena Almeida Hair: Rui Rocha Model: Carla Pereira ‘Karacter’ Special thanks to: ESAD.IDEA
Dress: Decenio X Alexandra Moura; Necklace: Zara; Bra stylists own
Caretos de Podence
244
PORTUGUESE SOUL
The Carnival of Podence and respective Caretos have been officially recognised as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The nomination was considered to be “exemplary” by this entity of the United Nations. It was selected to be included on the list that already includes Fado, Alentejo Singing, the Mediterranean Diet, Falconry and the so-called Estremoz clay figures as well as the craft of Portuguese cowbells.
The ‘Caretos de Podence’ take part in the Carnival festivities of the north-east Trás-os-Montes region, with colourfuland frilly costumes, bells hanging around their waist and a stick to support the mischief. They also have masks, angular leaves finished by a pointed nose, often in tinplate but sometimes also in leather, usually red or black with a cross painted on the forehead. The routine during the days of celebration consists of the groups of Caretos walking for hours on end along the slope that connects the churchyard to the yard that leads to the entrance of the parish, up and down, incessantly in search of women. They run and scream when they see women off guard, but there are also many consensual encounters. The Carnival in Podence is, in a sign of the times, a stage where roles often tend to reverse, since it is now the women who increasingly seek out the Caretos.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
245
O Traço Four architects, one stroke, two shoes.
When Marta de Pinho had the idea to produce shoes, inspired by a course in footwear design in São da Madeira, she did so by using her training in architecture to form the foundations that would guarantee a unique and completely standout final product, perfect in every way: in concept, origin, production, quality, comfort, functionality and beauty. Therefore, she set two challenges that were met with no difficulty: 1) to her friend, the architect Paula Nobre, to set up with her
246
PORTUGUESE SOUL
the company that would house O TRAÇO — the brand that would ensure the development, production and marketing of the shoes; 2) to two of the best architects in the world, for them to design something they had never even sketched before: a shoe. Attracted by the originality of the idea that took their natural creative curiosity by storm and won over by her arguments, Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto Moura did not hesitate in accepting the challenge. Thus, the design of these two
Photos: Frederico Martins
very special shoes that now see the light of day came from the unique and inspired hands that produced works that earned both architects the Pritzker Prize. Once the projects were finished, Siza Vieira and Souto Moura did not neglect following up on their work: they personally chose all the materials, defined each of the colours, personalised all the finishes; they supervised the production of the prototypes, defined each of the details and adapted the original design to the demands of comfort and functionality whenever necessary. Throughout the process, the two masters of architecture demonstrated deep respect for the Portuguese footwear industry and history, showing specific knowledge of this area that was manifestly unexpected, and all without ever distorting the initial boldness and original essence of each of their creations. Once the design was completed, the excellence of the traditional materials of footwear production chosen by the architects — leather, hide and rubber, was added.
This fusion resulted in two absolutely unique shoes, born from the delicate and entirely hand-crafted work of experienced and dedicated artisans of the footwear industry of SĂŁo da Madeira, a work of art whose path to completion is, literally, a privilege to follow. Both models are unisex, very versatile, and are available in various colours. The most surprising component of the final product, in addition to the bold specialised design, the careful choice of quality materials and the fantastic hand-crafted production, proudly all Portuguese, is the total absence of any trade-off in terms of comfort and functionality, since the feeling of lightness and well-being when wearing either model is absolute. In relation to these shoes, true and unique designer articles, only taste and the enjoyment with wearing them surpasses the desire to exhibit them as the works of art that they are.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
247
Oficina 166 www.oficina166.com
Text / Joana Jervell Photos / Courtesy of Oficina 166 Diana Meneses Cunha always had a passion for several arts and crafts. A few years ago, when leaving Luanda to return to Portugal, she decided to fully commit herself to decorative tapestry and explore her creative side. Oficina 166 was thus created and it is from her studio in Cascais that Diana constantly challenges herself, surprising everyone with unique pieces that, naturally, become a highlight in every place they stand.
How did Oficina 166 come about? I was always very creative and, during my teen years, I had a preference for working with yarn. However, it was only in 2015 that I experimented with tapestry technique on a weaving machine, with which I fell immediately in love. By then, and after realising my pieces were being well received, I decided to create my own brand. As well as creating pieces for clients, I also focus on courses and workshops for those who want to learn the techniques we use and I also organize creative retreats (I’m organising two in 2020). How do you define your pieces? How do they distinguish themselves? I create contemporary textile pieces using traditional techniques, such as tapestry on a weaving machine, embroidery, crochet and macramé. This contemporaneity is perceivable both in the design and in the mix of techniques and materials. The pieces I enjoy making the most are organic designs, which I also believe are more easily recognisable as being mine. The trunks with crochet and macramé (natural big trunks on which I weave a tapestry) are also exclusive pieces. Another aspect that characterizes my work is the size of my pieces, as they are usually quite large. Is the experimental component something you want to explore? What moves me is an immense need to create, to replicate. Therefore, I decided from the beginning that I’d create unique pieces. I remember my first project, with an interior design studio, of 21 wall tapestries for short-term rental apartments. My only request was for all the 21 pieces to be different and, fortunately, the client accepted. The decision
248
PORTUGUESE SOUL
of creating unique pieces demands a consistent search of new techniques and materials and different designs. And it is from that experimentation process that I get the pleasure of what I do. I feel like I’m always playing. Sometimes I haven’t even finished a piece and I’m already thinking about the next one. What are the materials that you enjoy working with the most? Concerning yarn, I like to work with 100% natural cotton and wool. One can immediately see the difference when a piece is made with natural yarn, not only visually but also by the touch. And, in the case of a textile piece, the sense of touch is essential. However, there are exceptions. One of them is regarding the exterior furniture line we’re developing with an architecture studio (PAr — Plataforma de Arquitetura). To be resistant to the sun, rain, salt and humidity, we need to use nautical ropes since we could never use natural rope. Another material I like to use a lot are natural tree trunks and branches, to support my tapestries and
also to loom directly on them, like a loom from which you never take the tapestry off. How do you boost up your creativity? I recently said that being creative is exhausting. Creativity doesn’t come with an off switch. Just because I close the studio at the end of the day, it doesn’t mean my head stops. And ideas often come from outside continuous stimulation, such as a landscape, a plant, the way the sky lights up at a certain point, the sea, a photo, someone’s garment… The internet also helps a lot, with platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, which give us access to a whole creative world. Clients are also a source of ideas and inspiration. I’m very lucky with the clients I have for having challenging ideas and trusting me to bring them to life. What are the main projects you participate in? Although I have orders for private homes, the main projects have been for hotels, such as Bairro Alto Hotel and Albatroz Hotel, or smaller hotels, such
as Craveiral Farmhouse, Casa Modesta and Paraíso Escondido, and restaurants, such as Tsukiji and Clássico Beach Club. My main clients are interior designers and architects. What do the clients value the most in an Oficina 166 piece? Definitely, the exclusiveness. The fact that I only make pieces to order means that every project is created for a specific client, its tastes and needs and the space itself where the piece is going to be. Is there any goal you feel you need to accomplish? Besides creating new pieces with new materials and techniques, right now my main goal is to expand my international client base. In Portugal there’s clearly an increasing demand for contemporary textile art, and the projects I’ve been awarded are a reflection of that, but given the country’s dimension, it’s essential to increase the number of foreign clients.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
249
AkaCorleone www.akacorleone.com
Text / Joana Jervell Photos / Courtesy of AkaCorleone Living and working in Lisbon, Pedro Campiche is the face behind the AkaCorleone name. Whether working on a large or small scale, carrying out public art projects or exhibiting works in galleries, the visual artist recognizes the constant need to explore new techniques, formats and approaches, in works that are always impactful and to which no one is indifferent.
250
PORTUGUESE SOUL
How did your background and education influence your career as the multifaceted artist you are today? My background and my first school were graffiti, which will always be an important part of my career and my influences as an artist. I was trained in graphic design, which has given me important foundations, but it turned out to be a different path from the one I wanted to follow. How have your artistic interests evolved so far? I feel like my interests are changing all the time… With the amount of information we absorb each day, the references and inspirations are being renewed constantly. What else do you seek to explore with your creations? To experiment, to do something new, use different materials, explore a language I don’t know, to step outside my comfort zone. How do you embrace each new project? Is there a method to your creative process? I “navigate” between different projects — which can be either an exhibition, a mural, or commercial work. So the approaches can vary depending on the challenge, but they usually start the same way: with a blank page, some notes, research, and trial and error… Then the process can vary, but it always has to go through this initial phase. How do you normally select the location of your work? Nowadays it is more common to be challenged to put
my works in locations defined by those who contact me, but I always have more personal projects that I define as objectives and, as a rule, I won’t rest until I achieve that objective. These projects come about by chance, I can pass a place that I put on a list, or remember an idea that needs a certain location that I can start looking for… On what scale do you prefer to work? It can vary a lot. I feel the same enthusiasm in painting a 5-story building as I do a 1x1m canvas. When it comes to murals, there’s always that challenge of doing something bigger than before, of raising the bar… For gallery works I am also increasingly exploring larger scale works. How would you like people to see your work? As an exercise of constant experimentation, because I feel I am still finding my way; I don’t want to have a formula and repeat it until it is exhausted, and I hope that this experience is passed on to the people who view my work. Your last job was… Painting an interior wall in an architect’s office. And what would you like to tell us about your plans for 2020? 2020 will be a year full of new challenges! I have some projects abroad, exhibitions in which I will explore new techniques, and some crazy ideas that I hope to realise, but for now I think it’s better not to say much more…
PORTUGUESE SOUL
251
Heritage Brand: Viarco Text / Ilídia Pinto
Viarco, in São João da Madeira, 40 kilometres from Porto, is home to the only pencil factory on the Iberian Peninsula, and is where experienced hands continue, more than 110 years after its foundation, to produce thousands of pencils each day. The pencils are of all colours, shapes, sizes and qualities. The process remains essentially artisanal and attracts tourists to the company every day. Viarco pencils can be found in hotels and museums around the world, including at the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They can also be found in the CW Pencils store, in SoHo, New York, where the jasmine and lavender-scented pencils and Viarco’s vintage collections are a huge hit. Today, José Vieira and his wife, Ana, the fourth generation at the head of the company, are Viarco’s only shareholders. The company was founded as Portugália in Vila do Conde in 1907. In 1931, José’s great-grandfather Manuel Vieira Araújo, an experienced hat maker and prominent figure in São João da Madeira, bought the company. In 1936 Viarco (Vieira Araújo e Companhia, Lda) was registered, and in 1941 the factory moved to São João da Madeira where it remains today in the same buildings, which are currently being classified a Municipal Heritage place of interest. This is one way of ‘preserving the company’s legacy, including its knowledge’, given that inside this almost 80-year-old factory there are a number of old machines, many of which have no operating manuals, making it crucial that the operators’ knowledge is safeguarded. As part of its continuing investment in digitization, Viarco is currently creating a platform on which all this information can be made available. After a hiatus of almost three decades, investment is the name
252
PORTUGUESE SOUL
of the game at this company that is more than 100 years old, and which has machinery from throughout the twentieth century alongside the latest printing and silk-screen printing machines and where state-of-the-art LED technology is being used to dry the inks. This 400,000 euro investment in innovation and internationalization was supported by Portugal 2020. It is an example of how tradition and modernity can, and should, go hand in hand. Today Viarco produces more than just pencils. Or rather, the company has found ways to add value to pencils, by creating a new range of products, such as sticks and graphite watercolours, designed for the art market and which is sold under the name Art Graf. This range gives the Portuguese company its greatest international projection and makes up 30% of the company’s sales while also promoting its more traditional pencils. If you are curious, go to lojaonline.viarco.pt where you can get more information about the company’s products. Viarco currently welcomes around 10,000 visitors every year as part of the São João da Madeira Industrial Tourism project. Most, but not all of them are schoolchildren. Some are tourists from as far afield as Korea, Argentina and Chile. José Vieira acknowledges 10,000 may seem like a “small” number, but he assures us that this generates more than enough income to pay the tour guides who know every nook and cranny. And no one can visit Viarco and its fantastic Factory Shop without taking a souvenir home. With 30 employees and the ability to produce 100,000 pencils each day, this year the company is expecting to make more than 750,000 euros in sales, 50% of which will be in international markets, particularly in the United States and Europe, as well as in Australia, South Korea and India, among many others.
Claus Porto Text / Ilídia Pinto
Perfume is back in Lisbon’s Baixa downtown area
It is at the corner of two of the Baixa’s most iconic arteries: Rua da Madalena, named after St Mary Magdalen, the patron saint of parfumiers; and Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, where you will find Claus Porto’s newest shop. The choice of location was deliberate. In the past, this part of the city was the most perfumed in Europe, with as many parfumiers as jewellers. Now Claus Porto is developing quality perfumes in this Lisbon neighbourhood. The shop’s theme is travel. This is not only because of its proximity to Lisbon’s new Cruise Terminal, the point of entry for many of the thousands of tourists who visit the city every year, but because this zone has become a meeting point for travellers from all over the world, attracted here by the beauty of the monuments and by its modern hotels, restaurants and fashion stores. And, for this reason, the entire selection of Claus Porto products at Rua da Madalena have been developed to be travel friendly, making them ideal gifts. The store is in the ground floor of an 18th-century Pombaline building that has been renovated to restore the original features that had been damaged as a consequence of the alterations made to the building over the centuries. The façade, constructed in lioz marble, a rare limestone found in Portugal, can be found on some of the most iconic national monuments, including the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower. Inside, the shop appears like the foyer of a contemporary “Grand Hotel”, in an homage to the iconic packaging of the Claus Porto Deco, Clássico and Musgo Real collections. The main feature will be the new soap bar, where customers and visitors can compose different combinations of scents and create their own personalised soap. “The relaxing and stylish space will be the perfect complement to the Claus Porto shop in Chiado, which will remain the brand’s main location in Lisbon”, the company confirmed. With 130 years of history and accumulated tradition of making soaps, perfumes and a range of fragrances, Claus Porto also has a Flagship Store on Rua das Flores in Porto, as well as a space in the NoLita district of New York, which has won many awards.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
253
Maria Imaginรกrio www.mariaimaginario.pt
Text / Joana Jervell Photos / Manuel Manso After forays into graffiti, illustration and painting, it is today, above all, through large-scale installations that Maria Imaginรกrio gives free rein to her creative universe. Divided between Lisbon and London, her work does not dispense with the intuitive use of colour, an essential element in her invitation to the spectator to interact with her work, whether physically or emotionally.
What kind of projects do you do? And what are clients looking for in your work? My work is divided into self-initiated projects and commissioned work. In my self-initiated projects I try not only to challenge the audience that follows my work and bring something new, but also to challenge myself. More specifically in projects with clients, they look to me for my aesthetics, for the way I can contribute to affect a space in a positive way and different from the conventional one.
254
PORTUGUESE SOUL
They are interested in an environment of great sensory stimulation, which creates an involvement of physical and cognitive interaction. An installation or a piece that creates memories, that is playful and impacts on all ages. As my work is increasingly linked to large-scale installations, I have had many requests for that field. Is there any particular reference that you transport to your work (and imaginary reference)? Colours are for me one of the most important parts of my process; my work has always been defined by the palette of colours, initially in painting, although over
time I have explored many different media. It is something that has always been part of my identity. Nowadays, one of the main focuses of my work is colours and the feeling they can convey.
What do you love most about what you do?
What can you tell us about the production of each of your works?
Creating a positive emotional impact. To know that I can create emotions, interactions, engagement, stimulate the imagination of others and contribute so that, for moments, they forget where they are, forget the routine of everyday life, and allow themselves to be carried away. The viewer becomes part of my installation, is involved in it and, for a moment, forgets his/her daily context.
There are several phases. The first is to find a concept that is related to the place or audience that will interact with the work, trying to challenge it in a sensorial, emotional, or intellectual way, always keeping my identity. Then there is the production phase: the study and testing of the materials and, depending on the complexity of the project, thinking about the team that I can gather to build it and implement it with me.
For me it is very important to create a relationship between the audience and the artwork. I am lucky to do what I like, for me my work is one of the most important things in my life, I feel happy not only working but also observing the interaction of others with my work. When you’re not working, where can we find you and what will you be doing?
Some of your most recent work is…
It’s a complicated question because honestly, I’m always working; it’s all I do, even when I’m with my friends and family, it’s an extension of my person. I’m constantly thinking about work in my head. I believe we don’t have to go to a museum to see art; for me everything can be art, it depends only on how we look at and interpret what surrounds us… So you can find me in parks and gardens, with my dog, in the middle of nature, or hanging out with my friends.
Colour is something I work with very intuitively and quite naturally. The way I use colour is intrinsically linked to my personality and what I communicate to the public.
I did a large-scale installation with inflatables, followed by an interactive piece that was part of the Imminent Festival (Lisbon); and, recently, I was invited to be the resident artist this year at the Martinhal resort in Sagres (Algarve), for which I developed a series of tapestries related to the distortion that water causes, which I have just finished. At the same time, I have been developing self-initiated projects that I will also be releasing soon.
PORTUGUESE SOUL
255
Tourism in Portugal comes of age Text / Susana Ribeiro Photos / Viage Comigo
The last decade has been one of growth for tourism in Portugal and the international awards are proof of this and of international recognition. In recent years, Portugal has been elected several times as Leading European Destination and Leading Tourist Destination in the World, at the World Travel Awards (WTA), an event that also elected Porto, Lisbon, Madeira and the Algarve as the preferred destinations of voters. It is therefore no wonder that in the most recent round of voting, Portugal had 60 nominations — Leading City Break, Leading City, Leading Cruise Port, Leading Tourist Attraction, Leading Diving Zone, etc. — all linked to tourism, in what are considered the Tourism Oscars. In addition to the WTA, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has also awarded Portugal with a unique prize: it has been classified as the first Accessible Tourism Destination in the World. This was the first time the WTO gave this award, in recognition of the effort to promote accessibility for people with disabilities and, thus, making Portugal an increasingly more inclusive destination. Recently, at ITB Berlin, in Germany, Por-
256
PORTUGUESE SOUL
tugal received the Best of Europe award, in the Sustainable Destination category. Condé Nast Traveler — one of the most prestigious travel magazines in the world — also helped grow the country’s tourism popularity, placing Portugal as the third Best Destination in the world in 2019 (and the best in Europe), in voting in which more than 600 thousand readers participated. In front of Portugal were Indonesia and Thailand, and the Top 5 also included Sri Lanka and South Africa. The tourism figures in Portugal also prove its coming of age: according to data from the National Statistics Agency (INE), the “tourist accommodation sector registered 2.7 million guests and 7.1 million overnight stays in June 2019”, which is an increase of 9.7% and 5.6% compared to the previous month. According to Turismo de Portugal data, tourism revenues had a weight of 8.2% of GDP and represent 18.6% of global exports. Enjoy your travels!
PORTUGUESE SOUL
257
Recipe
Flor de Escalhão (Escalhão Flower) The 7 Dessert Wonders of Portugal were recently selected, for which Flor de Escalhão was nominated, representing the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in Guarda district. The filhós (deep-fried sugared pastries) with a flower shape, made from a special iron mould, are very traditional and can be accompanied with honey, fruit sweets, ice cream, hot chocolate, etc. It is said that the flower comes from a tradition of Hispanic cuisine and the Calatrava cross, with four equal arms, and also the flower of Lis at the ends. In the past, they were flowers used in wedding services or in the most important festivals, for example.
INGREDIENTS 12 Eggs
100g Sugar
1 Kg Wheat flour
Cinnamon (stick and powder)
100ml Milk
Salt (1 teaspoon)
PREPARATION 1. Flor de Escalhão is made from dough of wheat flour with plenty of egg and milk flavoured with cinnamon.
5. The dough is then fried until it reaches its golden brown colour and the mould is removed.
2. Mix the ingredients.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
3. The flowers are made with an iron mould that gives them their characteristic baroque shape.
7. The flowers are then served sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Other accompaniments such as honey, sweets, fruits, ice cream, chocolate, etc. can be added.
4. The mould is heated in boiling oil and then filled with the dough.
BON APPETTIT! 258
PORTUGUESE SOUL
FA S H I O N
January 25 – 27, 2020 Showroom Concept January 24 – 28, 2020
March 8 – 10, 2020
AREAL BÖHLER
AREAL BÖHLER DÜSSELDORF
GALLERY-DUESSELDORF.COM
GALLERY-SHOES.COM
International, order-oriented trade shows for fashion, shoes and accessories with a mix of young and established brands based in Dusseldorf!
